Topical Bible: Threshold

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Topical Encyclopedia

In biblical terms, the concept of a "threshold" carries both literal and symbolic significance. The threshold is the entry point or sill of a doorway, marking the transition from one space to another. This physical boundary often holds spiritual and cultural implications within the biblical narrative.

Old Testament References

The threshold is mentioned in several Old Testament passages, often in the context of the temple or places of worship. In 1 Samuel 5:4-5 , the account of the Ark of the Covenant in the temple of Dagon highlights the significance of the threshold: "But when they got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD. The head and hands of Dagon were broken off and lying on the threshold; only the body remained. That is why to this day, the priests of Dagon and all who enter the temple of Dagon in Ashdod do not step on the threshold."

This passage illustrates the threshold as a place of divine encounter and judgment, where the power of God is demonstrated over false idols. The broken pieces of Dagon on the threshold symbolize the defeat of pagan deities before the presence of the true God.

In Ezekiel 9:3 , the threshold of the temple is again a focal point: "Then the glory of the God of Israel rose from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple." Here, the threshold serves as a boundary where the glory of God pauses, signifying a moment of transition and divine action.

Symbolic Meaning

The threshold often symbolizes a point of decision or change, representing the boundary between the sacred and the profane, the known and the unknown. In biblical thought, crossing a threshold can imply entering into a covenant, a new phase of life, or a deeper relationship with God.

In the context of the Passover, the threshold gains additional symbolic weight. The Israelites were instructed to apply the blood of the lamb to the doorposts and lintel of their homes (Exodus 12:7), marking the threshold as a place of protection and divine deliverance. This act of faith distinguished the Israelites from the Egyptians and signified their obedience to God's command.

Cultural and Religious Practices

In ancient Near Eastern cultures, thresholds were often associated with rituals and superstitions. Stepping over a threshold could be seen as an act of reverence or caution, acknowledging the presence of deities or spirits. The biblical narrative sometimes reflects these cultural practices, while also redefining them in light of the worship of Yahweh.

The threshold's role in temple architecture further underscores its importance. The temple, as the dwelling place of God, had thresholds that marked the transition from the outer courts to the inner sanctum, symbolizing the journey from the earthly to the divine presence.

New Testament Considerations

While the New Testament does not explicitly focus on thresholds, the concept of transition and entering into a new covenant is central to its message. Jesus Christ is often depicted as the "door" or "gate" (John 10:9), through whom believers enter into eternal life. This metaphorical use of a threshold underscores the transformative power of faith in Christ.

In summary, the threshold in biblical literature serves as a powerful symbol of transition, divine encounter, and spiritual significance. It marks the boundary between the sacred and the secular, inviting believers to consider the implications of crossing into a deeper relationship with God.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Threshold

Of the two words so rendered is the Authorized Version, one,miphthan, ,seems to mean sometimes a projecting beam or corbel. (Ezekiel 9:3; 10:4,18)

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(1.) Hebrews miphtan, probably a projecting beam at a higher point than the threshold proper (1 Samuel 5:4, 5; Ezek. 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."

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) The plank, stone, or piece of timber, which lies under a door, especially of a dwelling house, church, temple, or the like; the doorsill; hence, entrance; gate; door.

2. (n.) Fig.: The place or point of entering or beginning, entrance; outset; as, the threshold of life.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

THRESHOLD

thresh'-old.

See HOUSE, II, 1, (7).

Greek

952. bebelos -- permitted to be trodden, by impl. unhallowed
... 952 (an adjective, derived from , "go" and , "a threshold to enter a building") --
properly, , entry -- literally, "crossing a threshold" which because of. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/952.htm - 7k

953. bebeloo -- to profane
... pollute, violate. Cognate: 953 (from 952 ) -- properly, to cross over --
literally, walking past a threshold . This is illustrated ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/953.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

4670. miphtan -- threshold
... 4669, 4670. miphtan. 4671 . threshold. Transliteration: miphtan Phonetic
Spelling: (mif-tawn') Short Definition: threshold. Word ...
/hebrew/4670.htm - 6k

5605. saphaph -- to stand at or guard the threshold
... 5604, 5605. saphaph. 5606 . to stand at or guard the threshold. Transliteration:
saphaph Phonetic Spelling: (saw-faf') Short Definition: threshold. ...
/hebrew/5605.htm - 6k

5592b. saph -- threshold, sill
... 5592a, 5592b. saph. 5593 . threshold, sill. Transliteration: saph Short
Definition: threshold. Word Origin from the same as saph ...
/hebrew/5592b.htm - 5k

5592. caph -- a basin, goblet
... caph. 5592a . a basin, goblet. Transliteration: caph Phonetic Spelling: (saf)
Short Definition: bason. bason, bowl, cup, door post, gate, post, threshold ...
/hebrew/5592.htm - 5k

5646. ab -- perhaps a landing
ab or ob. 5645, 5646. ab or ob. 5647 . perhaps a landing. Transliteration:
ab or ob Phonetic Spelling: (awb) Short Definition: threshold. ...
/hebrew/5646.htm - 6k

624. asoph -- a store (ie a supply of provisions)
... collection of offerings. Passive participle of 'acaph; collected (only in the plural),
ie A collection of offerings) -- threshold, Asuppim. see HEBREW 'acaph. ...
/hebrew/624.htm - 6k

Library

How Caedwalla, King of the West Saxons, Went to Rome to be ...
... How Caedwalla, king of the West Saxons, went to Rome to be baptised; and his successor
Ini, also devoutly journeyed to the same threshold of the holy Apostles. ...
/.../bede/bedes ecclesiastical history of england/chap vii how caedwalla king.htm

My God, Without Ceasing, I Will Tread the Threshold of Thy House
... Hymn IV. My God, without ceasing, I will tread the threshold of Thy house.
1. My God, without ceasing, I will tread the threshold ...
/.../ephraim/hymns and homilies of ephraim the syrian/hymn iv my god without.htm

"You Knew the Too Barbarous And, Beyond Measure, Bloody Ferocity ...
... silence of the depths of the night, and as all were at rest, no entrance was possible
through the bolted doors, he lays himself down before that cruel threshold ...
/.../severus/life and writings of sulpitius severus /chapter iv you knew the.htm

The River of Life
... THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL THE RIVER OF LIFE. Waters issued out from under the
threshold of the house ... Ezekiel 47:1. Unlike most great ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture a/the river of life.htm

Greatness in the Kingdom
... between being in and being out of the kingdom; and this man, great as he was among
them 'that are born of women,' stood but upon the threshold; therefore, and ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture e/greatness in the kingdom.htm

Of the Massacre of Thessalonica; the Boldness of Bishop Ambrosius ...
... to enter the church. Ambrosius met him outside the outer porch and forbade
him to step over the sacred threshold. "You seem, sir ...
/.../the ecclesiastical history of theodoret/chapter xvii of the massacre of.htm

Concerning Festivals in Honour of Emperors, victories, and the ...
... among the Romans even gods of entrances; Cardea (Hinge-goddess), called after hinges,
and Forculus (Door-god) after doors, and Limentinus (Threshold-god) after ...
/.../tertullian/on idolatry/chapter xv concerning festivals in honour.htm

How Coinred, King of the Mercians, and Offa, King of the East ...
... the tonsure and becoming a monk, when Constantine was pope, he continued to his
last hour in prayer and fasting and alms-deeds at the threshold of the Apostles ...
/.../bede/bedes ecclesiastical history of england/chap xix how coinred king.htm

"But Clearly, as we Experienced, He Repaired, with Manifold ...
... I saw afterwards a possessed person brought to him at the gate [138] of the monastery;
and that, before the man touched the threshold, he was cured. ...
/.../severus/life and writings of sulpitius severus /chapter xiv but clearly as.htm

Which of the Gods Can the Romans Suppose Presided Over the ...
... and because he is a man, he is quite sufficient; but these people have set three
gods, Forculus to the doors, Cardea to the hinge, Limentinus to the threshold. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/city of god/chapter 8 which of the gods.htm

Thesaurus

Threshold (28 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary. (1.) Hebrews miphtan, probably a projecting beam at a
higher point than the threshold proper (1 Samuel 5:4, 5; Ezek. ...THRESHOLD. ...
/t/threshold.htm - 18k

Doorkeeper (8 Occurrences)
... This word is used in Psalm 84:10 (RV marg., "stand at the threshold of, " etc.),
but there it signifies properly "sitting at the threshold in the house of God ...
/d/doorkeeper.htm - 13k

Dagon (9 Occurrences)
... this time with the head and both hands severed from the body and lying upon the
miphtan (the word is commonly interpreted to mean "threshold"; according to ...
/d/dagon.htm - 12k

Thresholds (11 Occurrences)
... Ezekiel 41:16 the thresholds, and the closed windows, and the galleries around on
their three stories, over against the threshold, with wood ceilings all around ...
/t/thresholds.htm - 10k

Post (26 Occurrences)
... XI. of France in AD 1464. (2.) This word sometimes also is used for lintel
or threshold (Isaiah 6:4). Noah Webster's Dictionary. ...
/p/post.htm - 19k

Vestibule (36 Occurrences)
... Ezekiel 40:7 Every lodge was one reed long, and one reed broad; and the space between
the lodges was five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of ...
/v/vestibule.htm - 16k

Porch (37 Occurrences)
... 7:6 He made the porch of pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty
cubits; and a porch before them; and pillars and a threshold before them. ...
/p/porch.htm - 22k

Keepers (78 Occurrences)
... 22:4 "Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the money which is brought
into the house of Yahweh, which the keepers of the threshold have gathered ...
/k/keepers.htm - 33k

Jamb (1 Occurrence)
... Ezekiel 40:6 Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went
up the steps thereof: and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed broad ...
/j/jamb.htm - 7k

Door-post (5 Occurrences)
... Ezekiel 43:8 in their setting of their threshold by my threshold, and their
door-post beside my door-post, and there was but the wall between me and them; and ...
/d/door-post.htm - 8k

Resources

Who was Dagon in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Who is the prince in Ezekiel 46? | GotQuestions.org

What does the Bible say about adultery? | GotQuestions.org

Threshold: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Threshold (28 Occurrences)

Judges 19:27
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, with her hands on the threshold.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Samuel 5:4
When they arose early on the next day morning, behold, Dagon was fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands lay cut off on the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Samuel 5:5
Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any who come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod, to this day.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 7:6
He made the porch of pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits; and a porch before them; and pillars and a threshold before them.
(WEB ASV NAS)

1 Kings 14:17
Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah. As she came to the threshold of the house, the child died.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 12:9
But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of Yahweh: and the priests who kept the threshold put therein all the money that was brought into the house of Yahweh.
(WEB JPS ASV YLT NAS RSV)

2 Kings 22:4
"Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the money which is brought into the house of Yahweh, which the keepers of the threshold have gathered of the people.
(WEB ASV YLT RSV)

2 Kings 23:4
The king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring forth out of the temple of Yahweh all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the army of the sky, and he burned them outside of Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried the ashes of them to Bethel.
(WEB ASV YLT RSV)

2 Kings 25:18
The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold:
(WEB ASV YLT RSV)

2 Chronicles 3:7
He overlaid also the house, the beams, the thresholds, and its walls, and its doors, with gold; and engraved cherubim on the walls.
(Root in WEB JPS ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV)

2 Chronicles 34:9
They came to Hilkiah the high priest, and delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin, and of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
(WEB ASV YLT RSV)

Esther 2:21
In those days, while Mordecai was sitting in the king's gate, two of the king's chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those that kept the threshold, were wroth, and sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus.
(ASV DBY YLT RSV)

Esther 6:2
And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, of those that kept the threshold, who had sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus.
(ASV DBY YLT RSV)

Psalms 84:10
For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, Than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
(See JPS DBY YLT NAS)

Jeremiah 35:4
and I brought them into the house of Yahweh, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the threshold.
(WEB ASV DBY YLT RSV)

Jeremiah 52:24
The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold:
(WEB ASV YLT RSV)

Ezekiel 9:3
The glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon it was, to the threshold of the house: and he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writer's inkhorn by his side.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 10:4
The glory of Yahweh mounted up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of Yahweh's glory.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 10:18
The glory of Yahweh went forth from over the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 40:6
Then came he to the gate which looks toward the east, and went up its steps: and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed broad; and the other threshold, one reed broad.
(WEB KJV ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 40:7
Every lodge was one reed long, and one reed broad; and the space between the lodges was five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate toward the house was one reed.
(WEB KJV ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 41:16
the thresholds, and the closed windows, and the galleries around on their three stories, over against the threshold, with wood ceilings all around, and from the ground up to the windows, (now the windows were covered),
(Root in WEB ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 41:25
There were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubim and palm trees, like as were made on the walls; and there was a threshold of wood on the face of the porch outside.
(WEB ASV NAS)

Ezekiel 43:8
in their setting of their threshold by my threshold, and their doorpost beside my doorpost, and there was but the wall between me and them; and they have defiled my holy name by their abominations which they have committed: therefore I have consumed them in my anger.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 46:2
The prince shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate outside, and shall stand by the post of the gate; and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 47:1
He brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward; (for the forefront of the house was toward the east;) and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Zephaniah 1:9
In that day, I will punish all those who leap over the threshold, who fill their master's house with violence and deceit.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Zephaniah 2:14
Herds will lie down in the midst of her, all the animals of the nations. Both the pelican and the porcupine will lodge in its capitals. Their calls will echo through the windows. Desolation will be in the thresholds, for he has laid bare the cedar beams.
(Root in WEB KJV ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV)

Subtopics

Threshold

Related Terms

Threshold (28 Occurrences)

Beams (28 Occurrences)

Windows (27 Occurrences)

Gatekeepers (38 Occurrences)

Doorkeeper (8 Occurrences)

Porters (34 Occurrences)

Asuppim (2 Occurrences)

Pelican (5 Occurrences)

Bittern (4 Occurrences)