Bible Dictionary
Explore biblical people, places, events, objects, ideas, and other terms. Search the dictionary directly, browse alphabetically, or narrow the list by category or Testament.
Cubit
Measures & Money - Both
A cubit was an ancient unit of length based on the forearm, generally from the elbow to the end of the middle finger. Scripture reflects both ordinary and longer, or royal, standards of the cubit.
Cuckoo
Agriculture & Daily Life - Old Testament
“Cuckoo” is the traditional rendering of a bird named in the dietary lists of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The Revised Version identifies it as the seamew, and other proposed identifications include a petrel or shearwater.
Cucumbers
Agriculture & Daily Life - Old Testament
Cucumbers were cultivated vegetables valued for their cooling and refreshing pulp. The Israelites remembered them among the produce of Egypt, and Isaiah refers to temporary shelters in cucumber gardens.
Cummin
Agriculture & Daily Life - Both
Cummin is the aromatic seed of an herb used as a spice. Isaiah mentions its careful sowing and threshing, while Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for tithing cummin but neglecting the weightier matters of the law.
CUN
Places & Geography - Old Testament
Cun was a city of Hadarezer, king of Syria, that David captured and plundered. The parallel account identifies the place as Berothah.
CUNNING
Agriculture & Daily Life - Old Testament
In Bible English, cunning usually means wise, skillful, or expert rather than deceitful. It especially describes skilled workmanship, artistic design, craftsmanship, and practical knowledge.
Cup
Objects & Symbols - Both
A cup was a vessel for drinking, but Scripture also uses it for one’s allotted condition, whether blessing, suffering, judgment, or wrath. In the Lord’s Supper, the cup represents the new covenant in Christ’s blood.
Cup-bearer
Government & Society - Old Testament
A cup-bearer was a trusted and influential officer who served wine to an ancient king. Joseph encountered such an official in Egypt, and Nehemiah held this position in the Persian court.
Cupbearer
Government & Society - Both
A cupbearer was a high-ranking court official responsible for serving the king’s wine. Because the office required exceptional trust, the cupbearer could enjoy close access to and influence with the monarch.
CUPBOARD
Agriculture & Daily Life - Inter-testament
A cupboard was a kind of sideboard or display stand on which valuable gold and silver vessels were placed. It is mentioned in the account of Simon’s wealth and splendor.
CURDLE
Agriculture & Daily Life - Old Testament
To curdle means to congeal or harden. Job uses the process of milk becoming cheese as a humble and reverent image of the formation of the human body in the womb.
CURIOUS
Agriculture & Daily Life - Both
Curious, in older Bible English, can mean skillfully designed, embroidered, or woven. It may also describe magical practices, as in Ephesus, where practitioners burned their books after turning to Christ.
Curious arts
Sin & Judgment - New Testament
Curious arts were magical practices, charms, and occult formulas used by practitioners in Ephesus. Converts who had practiced them publicly burned their expensive books after receiving the gospel.
Curse
Sin & Judgment - Both
A curse is a solemn pronouncement of judgment or evil, often contrasted with blessing. Scripture presents God’s curse as effective judgment for sin, while commanding believers to bless those who curse them.
Curtain
Temple & Tabernacle - Old Testament
Curtains were woven coverings used for the tabernacle, including the veil separating the holy place from the holy of holies. Scripture also compares the heavens to a curtain or awning spread out by God.
Cush
Places & Geography - Old Testament
Cush refers both to a descendant of Ham and to lands associated with his descendants, especially regions south of Egypt and in parts of Africa or Arabia. The name also appears in the title of Psalm 7 for a Benjamite.
Cushan
Places & Geography - Old Testament
Cushan is a poetic name for the people or land of Cush in Habakkuk 3:7. The passage places it in parallel with Midian and does not establish a precise geographical boundary.
CUSHAN-RISHATHAIM
People & Groups - Old Testament
Cushan-rishathaim was a king of Mesopotamia who oppressed Israel for eight years after the people turned to idolatry. God raised up Othniel as Israel’s deliverer during the period of the judges.
Cushi
People & Groups - Old Testament
Cushi means “the Cushite” or “the Ethiopian.” It designates the messenger who reported Absalom’s defeat to David, and also appears as the name of ancestors of Jehudi and the prophet Zephaniah.
CUSHION
Agriculture & Daily Life - New Testament
A cushion was a headrest or seat cushion. In Mark 4:38, Jesus rested on a cushion in the stern of the boat during the storm on the Sea of Galilee.
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