apostle

World English Bible Glossary

The following words used in the World English Bible (WEB) are not very common, either because they refer to ancient weights, measures, or money, or because they are in some way unique to the Bible.

Abaddon

Abaddon is Hebrew for destruction.

Abba

Abba is a Chaldee word for father, used in a respectful, affectionate, and familiar way, like papa, dad, or daddy. Often used in prayer to refer to our Father in Heaven.

adultery

Adultery is having sexual intercourse with someone besides your own husband or wife. In the Bible, the only legitimate sexual intercourse is between a man and a woman who are married to each other.

alpha

Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. It is sometimes used to mean the beginning or the first.

amen

Amen means "so be it" or "it is certainly so."

angel

"Angel" literally means "messenger" or "envoy," and is usually used to refer to spiritual beings who normally are invisible to us, but can also appear as exceedingly strong creatures or as humans.

Apollyon

Apollyon is Greek for destroyer.

"Apostle" means a delegate, messenger, or one sent forth with orders. This term is applied in the New Testament in both a general sense connected with a ministry of establishing and strengthening church fellowships, as well as in a specific sense to "The 12 Apostles of the Lamb" (Revelation 21:14). The former category applies to a specific ministry that continues in the Church (Ephesians 4:11-13) and which includes many more than 12 people, while the latter refers to the apostles named in Matthew 10:2-4, except with Judas Iscariot replaced by Matthias (Acts 1:26).