Kineret (כִּנֶּרֶת)

Hebrew. The Old Testament name for the “Sea of Galilee (Γαλιλαία)”, Israel's largest freshwater lake, with an area of approximately 166 km². It is situated deep in the Jordan Great Rift Valley, the valley caused by the separation of the African and Arabian Plates, at 209 meters below sea level, making it the lowest freshwater lake on Earth. It is fed by the Jordan River, which flows through it from north to south, and in part by some underground springs. The Hebrew name may originate from the word kinnor (כינור), the name for David's harp and referring to the shape of the lake, whereas the Greek name means “circuit”.

kinnor (כינור)

Hebrew. Name for an ancient lyre, which was first mentioned in Genesis 4:21, where it is written that Yuval (יוּבָל), the inventor of musical instruments, known in English as Jubal, was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. The kinnor is also known as David's harp and is the national instrument of Israel. In modern Hebrew the word is translated as fiddle or violin. Some believe the name Kineret may have derived from it. In Greek it is known as kinura (κινύρα) or kinnura (κιννύρα).

Kodesh Hakodashim (קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים)

Hebrew. “Holy of Holies”. A term in the Old Testament, which initially referred to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, and later to the inner house of the Temple in Jerusalem, where the Ark of the Covenant, i.e. the dwelling place of God and the Ten Commandments, was kept during the period of king Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, which was destroyed in 597 BC by the Babylonians after which the Ark of the Covenant was lost. Thus, in the Second Temple, which was built between 521 BC and 515 BC, and destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans at the end of the Jewish Revolt, the Holy of Holies did no longer contain the Ark of the Covenant, but instead a portion of the floor was raised somewhat to indicate the place where the Ark had stood. Whereas in the First Temple, the Holy of Holies was separated from the Holy Place by a wall with a door, in the Second Temple the Holy of Holies was separated by a curtain veiling the Holy of Holies, rather than by a wall. The colour scheme of this curtain of fine linen in blue, purple and crimson is symbolic. Whereas blue represented the heavens, crimson represented the earth and purple, a combination of the two colours, represented a meeting of the heavens and the earth - a symbolism that also occurs in the purple cloak in which the Roman soldiers clothed Christ when they mocked him as King of the Jews (Mark 15:16). The restricted area of the Holy of Holies could be entered only by the High Priest on Yom Kippur, i.e. the “Day of Atonement”. In Judaism, the holy ark is today a place in a synagogue where the Torah scrolls are kept, as a kind of miniature Holy of Holies, and according to tradition the actual Holy of Holies shall be restored whenever the Third Temple will be built. See also adyton.