ideology (I·de·OL·o·gy). Cultural symbols and beliefs that reflect and support the interests of specific groups in a society.

idol (I·dol). A deity usually represented in stone or other material.

idol-meat (I·dol·meat). From the Greek, eidolothuton, idol-meat is a polemical term found in Greek language Christian literature in reference to meat from animals sacrificed to pagan gods. See Witherington 1994.

immortal soul (im·MOR·tal soul). In the first century CE the Church of God did not place any belief or reliance on an immortal soul. Such thinking, known as dualism, was a later intrusion adopted by christianized Gentile groups affected by Gnostic teachings, Greek philosophy influenced by Socrates and Plato, and the pagan mystery religions. The salvation preached by the apostles offered men and women equal opportunity to live again through a resurrection from the dead to a higher state of being. Entry into the Kingdom of God meant that the individual would change from mortal to immortal (I Corinthians 15:51–54). This transformation would make them brethren of Jesus Christ, their elder brother, and the children of God the Father. The apostles declared that God was in process of establishing a spiritual family, through the creation and redemption of humankind, called the Kingdom of God.

incest (IN·cest). Sexual activity between a male and female of such close kinship that customs or laws  forbid them to engage in coitus with each other or for them to enter into a legal marriage contract with each other.

inclusive reckoning (in·CLU·sive REC·on·inh). Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah, tenth in the descent from Ezra, said that “A day and a night are an Onah [‘a portion of time’] and the portion of an Onah is as the whole of it” [Jerusalem Talmud, Shabbath 9.3 and Babylonian Talmud, Pesahim 4a]. The rabbi’s statement conveys to his readers that part of a day can count as a day. So, when the word day appears by itself it can be a full day or a partial day reckoned as a compete day. The expression “seven days” is indefinite in the sense that it can mean either seven full days or part of two days and five full days. This necessitates, however, biblical writers to use additional language to refer specifically to a full 24-hour day. Unfortunately Christian writers frequently overlook or ignore this important detail. The rule is unmistakable, whenever the expression “day and night” or “night and day” appear together in the Hebrew Scriptures the period is never less than a full 24-hour day. This Hebrew idiom, appearing throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and in the New Testament, never meant anything less than a full day. When Matthew, who wrote to a first-century Judeo-Christian readership, stated that Jesus “fasted forty days and forty nights” (Matthew 4:2) he followed this practice thereby making it apparent to his early first-century Hebrew readers that he did not mean simply forty days (which could have included two partial days) but forty full or complete days.

infanticide (in·FAN·ti·CIDE). Intentional abandonment or murder of infants one year or age or younger.

infectious disease (in·FEC·tious dis·EASE). A disease caused by the introduction of an organic foreign substance into the body, e.g., parasites and viruses.

infibulation (in·FIB·u·la·tion). Anciently a simple surgical procedure where a surgeon would pierce the foreskin to receive a light wooden pin called a fibula. See Celsus, De Medicina 7.25.2.

in situ (in SI·tu). Literally “at the site” used to designated the precise position in which artifacts and architectural fragments were originally found, that is, where found at the site.

intensive agriculture (in·TEN·sive AG·ri·CUL·ture). The cultivation of domesticated crops through annual preparation of fields, use of fertilizers, and irrigation, enabling a population to produce enormous food surpluses thereby sustain dense populations in large permanent settlements. By this means the carrying capacity of settlements increased significantly.

intensive horticulture (in·TEN·sive HOR·ti·CUL·ture). A method of crop production by irrigating, fertilizing, hoeing, and terracing hillsides.

intercalation (in·TER·ca·LA·tion). The act or instance of inserting extra time such as days, months, and the like, into the calendar.

interpretation (in·TER·pre·TA·tion). The providing of meaning, supposedly, for the contemporary world from hermeneutic analysis.

Ionic Capitals (I·on·ic CAP·i·tals). Capitals characterized by ornamental scrolls representing the Ionic order of classical Greek architecture.