✪ "A small village, Sychar, was near the ruins of Shechem in New Testament times and is mentioned in the John 4 account (Jn. 4:5). Unfortunately, most Bible studies of the events at or near Shechem, and commentaries on the Book of John, omit Shechem's pivotal role in Bible history and how it fit into God's salvation plan. . . . [This photo shows] the narrow pass where ancient Shechem is located at the modern city of Nablus . . . Mt. Gerizim is on the left and Mt. Ebal on the right." David G. Hansen, Shechem: Its Archaeological and Contextual Significance, Ref-0066, Vol. 18 No. 2 (2005), p. 33. "The Tell rests in a long, narrow, east-west valley with the two highest mountains in central Palestine towering over it, Mt. Ebal on the north and Mt. Gerizim on the south. The Hebrew word shekem means “back” or “shoulder,” which probably refers to Shechem's placement between the two mountains." David G. Hansen, Shechem: Its Archaeological and Contextual Significance, Ref-0066, Vol. 18 No. 2 (2005), p. 35.
✪ Questionable: Rev. 9:3 (?); Rev. 9:7 (?);
✪ "The institution dates from the captivity in Babylon. The Jews there were under the necessity of gathering together in small groups, as they were no longer able to attend the Temple. This necessity would be felt by Jews wherever scattered, and so everywhere synagogues were built." Ref-0117, p. 50. "Another great and far-reaching change of this period [after the Exile] was the introduction of synagogues. To the idea of worshiping elsewhere than in the temple the people had become somewhat accustomed during the exile. And when, after their return, Ezra set the example of a similar service under the very shadow of the temple, it was readily taken up and carried, little by little, into every part of the land. There were, however, other reasons which contributed to this result. The second temple was itself a disappointment. It could never quite take the place, in the affections of the people, of that which had been destroyed. It was destitute of some of its chief attractions. This made it easier to be reconciled to the simple forms of the synagogue, and to grasp, in some measure, the sublime thought, which for its full development, however, required other centuries of bitter experience, that God is a spirit and that they who worship Him should worship Him in spirit and in truth." Bissell in Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., & Bissell, E. C. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures : Apocrypha (9). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. ". . . some critics have claimed . . . that there were no synagogue buildings prior to 70 A.D., when the Teple was destroyed. This, despite clear pre-70 A.D. reference to a building used as a synagogue by Philo, plus an inscription from Berenike that describes repairs made to a synagogue. Furthermore, at least eight synagogues from the first century have been excavated, all of which predate the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., and the most famous of which is the synagogue in Capernaum." Bryan Windle, Shackled or Anchored?, Ref-0066 29.3 (2016), 99-104, p. 101. "In the Second Temple Period most Jews lived in the Diaspora, that is, outside the Land of Israel. Synagogues developed as Judaism adapted to the loss of the central Jerusalem temple. . . . Non-temple-centered Judaism continued to flourish even after the temple was rebuilt. There was a de-centralization of authority. By the time of Jesus, the Sadducees held sway in the temple but the Pharisees were over most synagogues." Ref-1482, p. 106.
✪ "Melanchthon believed that the will cooperated with the Spirit, a viewpoint known as synergism." Ref-0019, p. 248.
✪ See Arminianism. "The Synod of Dort held 154 sessions during the period from 13 November 1618 to 28 May 1619. Its Dutch membership was prevailingly of the Gomarist or rigorous Calvinist persuasion, but theologians from the churches of England and the Palatinate tempered the rigor of its decisions. The French delegates were not permitted by Louis XIII to leave France. The canons of the synod assert: (1) that election is founded on God’s purpose ‘before the foundation of the world’; (2) that the efficacy of Christ’s atonement extends to the elect only; (3) that the Fall has left man in a state of corruption and helplessness; his gleams of natural light are of no value for salvation; (4) that regeneration is an inward renewal of the soul and of the will and is wholly a work of God, ‘powerful, delightful, astonishing, mysterious, and ineffable’; (5) that God so preserves the elect, ever renewing their repentance, patience, humility, gratitude, and good works, that, despite their sins, they do not finally fall away from grace. We have here the Five Points of Calvinism -- unconditional election, limited atonement, total depravity, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the saints." Ref-1096, p. 265.
✪ Constituting a synopsis; presenting a summary of the principle parts or a general view of the whole. Relating to or being the first three gospels of the NT, which correspond closely.
✪ The study of God using all available sources.