Hegoumenos (Gr) – leader (Eng) – the Greek word hegoumenos comes from the Greek
word hegeomai which means “leader”, “guide,” and “commander.” Hegoumenos is used in
Acts 7:10 to identify Joseph when he was the vizier of Egypt. Mathew quotes Micah 5:2 in Matthew 2:6 and identifies the Messiah as the “hegoumenos who will shepherd my sheep.”
In the first century hegoumenos is used in the papyri to identify the person in charge of certain area of expertise such as:
- Hegoumenos of the weavers
- Hegoumenos of the town assembly
- Hegoumenos of a religious body. |
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(PART FOUR OF FOUR)
Leen Ritmeyer has possibly identified the location of the temple, the Most Holy Place and the place in the bedrock on Mount Moriah where the Ark of the Covenant was set. The foundation bedrock that protrudes out of Mount Moriah that is today under the Dome of the Rock has been examined by Leen Ritmeyer. Ritmeyer’s research has made four conclusions:
#4 of 4) Exactly in the center of this 20 cubit by 20 cubit area (with foundation markings preserved for the south, the north and the west walls) of the Holy of Holies, Ritmeyer identified a rectangular depression in the center of this 20x20 cubit area. If this area was the Holy of Holies then the Ark of the Covenant would have set in the center of this area. Ritmeyer found a leveled rectangular depression that was 2.25 feet x 3.75 feet (1.5 cubits x 2.5 cubits). Exodus 25:10 describes the Ark of the Covenant as being 1.5 cubits x 2.5 cubits.
1 Kings 6:19-21 says Solomon placed this Ark in the Holy of Holies in a place he had prepared for the Ark. In 1 Kings 8:6-8 and 6:20-21 the text says,
“There I have set (sim in Hebrew) a place for the Ark of the Covenant.”
The Hebrew word sim translated “set” also means “put a place” or “made a place.” In other words, Solomon had a level 1.5x2.5 cubit rectangular spot or place made in the bedrock of Mount Moriah which was surrounded by the walls of the Holy of Holies cut in the bedrock to set the Ark on a level spot so it would be setting stable. This spot is visible today.
(Diagram by Ritmeyer HERE and HERE.
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