Olive-tree Is frequently mentioned in Scripture. The dove from the ark brought an olive-branch to Noah (Gen 8:11). It is mentioned among the most notable trees of Palestine, where it was cultivated long before the time of the Hebrews (Deu 6:11; Deu 8:8). It is mentioned in the first Old Testament parable, that of Jotham (Jdg 9:9), and is named among the blessings of the "good land," and is at the present day the one characteristic tree of Palestine. The oldest olive-trees in the country are those which are enclosed in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is referred to as an emblem of prosperity and beauty and religious privilege (Psa 52:8; Jer 11:16; Hos 14:6). The two "witnesses" mentioned in Rev 11:4 are spoken of as "two olive trees standing before the God of the earth." (Compare Zac 4:3, Zac 4:11.) The "olive-tree, wild by nature" (Rom 11:24), is the shoot or cutting of the good olive-tree which, left ungrafted, grows up to be a "wild olive." In Rom 11:17 Paul refers to the practice of grafting shoots of the wild olive into a "good" olive which has become unfruitful. By such a process the sap of the good olive, by pervading the branch which is "grafted in," makes it a good branch, bearing good olives. Thus the Gentiles, being a "wild olive," but now "grafted in," yield fruit, but only through the sap of the tree into which they have been grafted. This is a process "contrary to nature" (Rom 11:24).
Olives, Mount of So called from the olive trees with which its sides are clothed, is a mountain ridge on the east of Jerusalem (Kg1 11:7; Eze 11:23; Zac 14:4), from which it is separated by the valley of Kidron. It is first mentioned in connection with David's flight from Jerusalem through the rebellion of Absalom (Sa2 15:30), and is only once again mentioned in the Old Testament, in Zac 14:4. It is, however, frequently alluded to (Kg1 11:7; Kg2 23:13; Neh 8:15; Eze 11:23). It is frequently mentioned in the New Testament (Mat 21:1; Mat 26:30, etc.). It now bears the name of Jebel et-Tur, i.e., "Mount of the Summit;" also sometimes called Jebel ez-Zeitun, i.e., "Mount of Olives." It is about 200 feet above the level of the city. The road from Jerusalem to Bethany runs as of old over this mount. It was on this mount that Jesus stood when he wept over Jerusalem. "No name in Scripture," says Dr. Porter, "calls up associations at once so sacred and so pleasing as that of Olivet. The 'mount' is so intimately connected with the private, the devotional life of the Saviour, that we read of it and look at it with feelings of deepest interest and affection. Here he often sat with his disciples, telling them of wondrous events yet to come, of the destruction of the Holy City; of the sufferings, the persecution, and the final triumph of his followers (Matt. 24). Here he gave them the beautiful parables of the ten virgins and the five talents (Matt. 25); here he was wont to retire on each evening for meditation, and prayer, and rest of body, when weary and harassed by the labours and trials of the day (Luk 21:37); and here he came on the night of his betrayal to utter that wonderful prayer, 'O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt' (Mat 26:39). And when the cup of God's wrath had been drunk, and death and the grave conquered, he led his disciples out again over Olivet as far as to Bethany, and after a parting blessing ascended to heaven (Luk 24:50, Luk 24:51; Act 1:12)." This mount, or rather mountain range, has four summits or peaks: (1.) the "Galilee" peak, so called from a tradition that the angels stood here when they spoke to the disciples (Act 1:11); (2.) the "Mount of Ascension," the supposed site of that event, which was, however, somewhere probably nearer Bethany (Luk 24:51, Luk 24:52); (3.) the "Prophets," from the catacombs on its side, called "the prophets' tombs;" and (4.) the "Mount of Corruption," so called because of the "high places" erected there by Solomon for the idolatrous worship of his foreign wives (Kg1 11:7; Kg2 23:13; Vulg., "Mount of Offense").
Olympas A Roman Christian whom Paul salutes (Rom 16:15).
Omar Eloquent, the son of Eliphaz, who was Esau's eldest son (Gen 36:11).
Omega (Rev 1:8), the last letter in the Greek alphabet. (See ALPHA.)
Omer A handful, one-tenth of an ephah = half a gallon dry measure (Exo 16:22, Exo 16:32, Exo 16:33, Exo 16:36) = "tenth deal."
Omri Servant of Jehovah. When Elah was murdered by Zimri at Tirzah (Kg1 16:15), Omri, his captain, was made king (931 B.C.). For four years there was continued opposition to his reign, Tibni, another claimant to the throne, leading the opposing party; but at the close of that period all his rivals were defeated, and he became king of Israel, "Tibni died and Omri reigned" (927 B.C.). By his vigour and power he gained great eminence and consolidated the kingdom. He fixed his dynasty on the throne so firmly that it continued during four succeeding reigns. Tirza was for six years the seat of his government. He then removed the capital to Samaria (q.v.), where he died, and was succeeded by his son Ahab. "He wrought evil in the eyes of the Lord, and did worse than all that were before him." Beth-omri, "the house" or "city of Omri," is the name usually found on Assyrian inscriptions for Samaria. In the stele of Mesha (the "Moabite stone"), which was erected in Moab about twenty or thirty years after Omri's death, it is recorded that Omri oppressed Moab till Mesha delivered the land: "Omri, king of Israel, oppressed Moab many days, for Chemosh was angry with his land. His son succeeded him, and he also said, I will oppress Moab" (Compare Kg2 1:1; Kg2 3:4, Kg2 3:5). The "Moabite stone" also records that "Omri took the land of Medeba, and occupied it in his day and in the days of his son forty years."
On Light; the sun, (Gen 41:45, Gen 41:50), the great seat of sun-worship, called also Beth-shemesh (Jer 43:13) and Aven (Eze 30:17), stood on the east bank of the Nile, a few miles north of Memphis, and near Cairo, in the north-east. The Vulgate and the LXX. Versions have "Heliopolis" ("city of the sun") instead of On in Genesis and of Aven in Ezekiel. The "city of destruction" Isaiah speaks of (Isa 19:18, marg. "of Heres;" Heb. 'Ir-ha-heres , which some MSS. read Ir-ha-heres , i.e., "city of the sun") may be the name given to On, the prophecy being that the time will come when that city which was known as the "city of the sun-god" shall become the "city of destruction" of the sun-god, i.e., when idolatry shall cease, and the worship of the true God be established. In ancient times this city was full of obelisks dedicated to the sun. Of these only one now remains standing. "Cleopatra's Needle" was one of those which stood in this city in front of the Temple of Tum, i.e., "the sun." It is now erected on the Thames Embankment, London. "It was at On that Joseph wooed and won the dark-skinned Asenath, the daughter of the high priest of its great temple." This was a noted university town, and here Moses gained his acquaintance with "all the wisdom of the Egyptians."
Onan Strong, the second son of Judah (Gen 38:4; compare Deu 25:5; Mat 22:24). He died before the going down of Jacob and his family into Egypt.
Onesimus Useful, a slave who, after robbing his master Philemon (q.v.) at Colosse, fled to Rome, where he was converted by the apostle Paul, who sent him back to his master with the epistle which bears his name. In it he beseeches Philemon to receive his slave as a "faithful and beloved brother." Paul offers to pay to Philemon anything his slave had taken, and to bear the wrong he had done him. He was accompanied on his return by Tychicus, the bearer of the Epistle to the Colossians (Plm 1:16, Plm 1:18). The story of this fugitive Colossian slave is a remarkable evidence of the freedom of access to the prisoner which was granted to all, and "a beautiful illustration both of the character of St. Paul and the transfiguring power and righteous principles of the gospel."