In biblical times, thresholds held significant cultural and religious importance, often symbolizing transition and sanctity. The threshold, the sill of a doorway, was not merely a structural component but also a place of ritual and symbolic meaning.

Old Testament References

One of the most notable references to thresholds in the Bible is found in the book of 1 Samuel. When the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant and placed it in the temple of Dagon, the idol of Dagon fell before the Ark. The next day, the head and hands of Dagon were found broken off on the threshold. As a result, "to this day, the priests of Dagon and all who enter the temple of Dagon do not step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod" (1 Samuel 5:5). This incident highlights the threshold as a place of divine encounter and judgment.

In Ezekiel's vision of the new temple, the threshold is again emphasized. Ezekiel describes the glory of the LORD entering the temple through the gate facing east, and the Spirit lifting him up and bringing him into the inner court, where "the glory of the LORD filled the temple" (Ezekiel 43:5). The threshold here marks the boundary between the profane and the holy, underscoring the sanctity of the space within.

Symbolism and Rituals

Thresholds in the Bible often symbolize transition and the crossing from one state to another. They can represent the movement from the secular to the sacred, from the outside world into a place of divine presence. This symbolism is evident in the Passover narrative, where the Israelites were instructed to mark their doorposts and lintels with the blood of a lamb. The threshold, in this context, became a boundary of protection, as the LORD passed over the houses marked by the blood (Exodus 12:7, 13).

In ancient Near Eastern cultures, thresholds were sometimes associated with deities or spirits, and rituals were performed to honor these entities. The Bible, however, consistently emphasizes the LORD's sovereignty over all places, including thresholds, rejecting any notion of other spiritual entities having power over these spaces.

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 described as the "door" or "gate" for the sheep, symbolizing the entry point to salvation and eternal life (John 10:7, 9). This metaphorical use of a threshold underscores the idea of Jesus as the passage through which believers enter into a relationship with God.

Cultural and Theological Implications

In biblical theology, thresholds can be seen as places of decision and commitment. Crossing a threshold often signifies a commitment to a new way of life or a deeper relationship with God. This is reflected in the call to holiness and the invitation to enter into God's presence with reverence and awe.

The concept of thresholds also invites reflection on the boundaries between the sacred and the secular in the life of a believer. Just as the physical thresholds in biblical narratives marked significant transitions, spiritual thresholds in a believer's life mark moments of transformation and consecration to God's purposes.5592b. saph -- threshold, sill
... same as saph Definition threshold, sill NASB Word Usage door (1), doorkeeper* (1),
doorkeepers* (4), gatekeepers* (1), temple (2), threshold (10), thresholds (6 ...
/hebrew/5592b.htm - 5k

5646. ab -- perhaps a landing
... Word Origin of uncertain derivation Definition perhaps a landing NASB Word
Usage threshold (2), thresholds (1). thick beam, plant. ...
/hebrew/5646.htm - 6k

Further Proofs, from Ezekiel. Summary of the Prophetic Argument ...
... And He introduced me unto the thresholds of the gate of the house of the Lord which
looketh unto the north; and, behold, there, women sitting and bewailing ...
/.../tertullian/an answer to the jews/chapter xi further proofs from ezekiel.htm

What Then? You Say; do You Declare that These Gods Exist Nowhere ...
... Who that Limentinus and Lima have the care of thresholds, and do the duties of their
keepers, when every day we see the thresholds of temples and private ...
/.../the seven books of arnobius against the heathen/9 what then you say.htm

Of the Cross, and Other Tortures of Jesus, and of the Figure of ...
... sign. [852] And the Jews even now exhibit a figure of this transaction when
they mark their thresholds with the blood of a lamb. For ...
/.../lactantius/the divine institutes/chap xxvi of the cross and.htm

Book iii. --Of the Harmony of the Fathers of the Old and New ...
... 60 Who, spurning briefly"blooming riches, left. The royal thresholds,) rather
chose to bear. His people's toils, afflicted, with bowed neck,. ...
/.../fathers of the third century tertullian appendix/book iii of the harmony of.htm

I an African Free-Town Subject to Rome
... brilliant in the morning sun, glimpses of sky of a very tender blue; here and there,
in the strip of deep shade which lies along the thresholds, white figures ...
/.../bertrand/saint augustin/i an african free-town subject.htm

The Constellations and the Genii Very Indifferent Gods the Roman ...
... her sloping (haunts); I pass silently by the deities called Forculus from doors,
and Cardea from hinges, and Limentinus the god of thresholds, and whatever ...
/.../tertullian/ad nationes/chapter xv the constellations and the.htm

Jesaia, Dem Propheten, Das Geschah. These Things the Seer Isaiah ...
... His glory filleth all the trembling earth!" With the loud cry the posts and thresholds
shook, And the whole house was filled with mist and smoke. ...
/.../bacon/the hymns of martin luther/xxv jesaia dem propheten das.htm

How the Holy Man, Egbert, Would have Gone into Germany to Preach ...
... he could deliver any of them from Satan, and bring them to Christ; or if this might
not be, he was minded to go to Rome, to see and adore the thresholds of the ...
/.../bede/bedes ecclesiastical history of england/chap ix how the holy.htm

The Minne-Singers
... come as pilgrims into our land, with their long staves and great boots; and amid
the most sultry heat and bathed in sweat, yet visit all the thresholds of the ...
/.../winkworth/christian singers of germany/the minne-singers.htm

A Young Man who Said, "Send Me"
... The foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of those who called,
and the temple was filled with smoke. Then I:said: "Woe is me! ...
//christianbookshelf.org/sherman/the childrens bible/a young man who said.htm

Thresholds (11 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Thresholds (11 Occurrences). ... 1 Chronicles 9:22 All these
who were chosen to be porters in the thresholds were two hundred and twelve. ...
/t/thresholds.htm - 10k

Threshold (28 Occurrences)
... 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. ...
/t/threshold.htm - 18k

Beams (28 Occurrences)
... 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. ...
/b/beams.htm - 14k

Windows (27 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 ...
/w/windows.htm - 15k

Gatekeepers (38 Occurrences)
... 1 Chronicles 9:22 All of those who are chosen for gatekeepers at the thresholds
'are' two hundred and twelve; they 'are' in their villages, by their genealogy ...
/g/gatekeepers.htm - 19k

Doorkeeper (8 Occurrences)
... Their duties and the words describing them in two passages, "keepers of the thresholds"
(1 Chronicles 9:19) and "porters of the thresholds" (2 Chronicles 23:4 ...
/d/doorkeeper.htm - 13k

Porters (34 Occurrences)
... (WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS). 1 Chronicles 9:22 All these who were chosen to be
porters in the thresholds were two hundred and twelve. These ...
/p/porters.htm - 17k

Asuppim (2 Occurrences)
... In Nehemiah 12:25 the Authorized Version has "thresholds," marg. "treasuries" or
"assemblies;" Revised Version, "storehouses.". Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia ...
/a/asuppim.htm - 7k

Pelican (5 Occurrences)
... both the pelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the capitals thereof; their voice
shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he ...
/p/pelican.htm - 11k

Bittern (4 Occurrences)
... both the pelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the capitals thereof; their voice
shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he ...
/b/bittern.htm - 14k

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