Easton's Bible Dictionary The principal deity of the ancient Greeks and Romans. He was worshipped by them under various epithets. Barnabas was identified with this god by the Lycaonians (Acts 14:12), because he was of stately and commanding presence, as they supposed Jupiter to be. There was a temple dedicated to this god outside the gates of Lystra (14:13). Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) The supreme deity, king of gods and men, and reputed to be the son of Saturn and Rhea; Jove. He corresponds to the Greek Zeus. 2. (n.) One of the planets, being the brightest except Venus, and the largest of them all, its mean diameter being about 85,000 miles. It revolves about the sun in 4,332.6 days, at a mean distance of 5.2028 from the sun, the earth's mean distance being taken as unity. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia JUPITER joo'-pi-ter, ju'-pi-ter (Zeus): "Jupiter" is mentioned in 2 Maccabees 6:2; Acts 14:12, 13, with "Zeus" in the Revised Version margin in all cases. In addition the Greek stem appears in diopetous, in Acts 19:35, English Versions of the Bible "which fell down from Jupiter"; but the word means "from the clear sky" (compare "from heaven" in the Revised Version margin). "Jupiter" was considered the Latin equivalent of the Greek "Zeus," the highest god in the developed Greek pantheon, and Zeus in turn, in accord with the syncretism of the period, was identified with countless deities in the local cults of Asia Minor and elsewhere. So in Acts 14:12, 13, "Zeus" and "Hermes" are local deities that had been renamed. On the other hand, the Zeus of 2 Maccabees 6:2 is the genuine Greek deity, who had been adopted as a special patron by Antiochus Epiphanes and to whose temple in Athens Antiochus had contributed largely. The title "Olympius" (2 Maccabees 6:2) is derived from the early worship on Mt. Olympus, but had come to be thought one of the god's highest appellations; Xenios, "protector of strangers," was a title in a cult particularly popular with travelers. See ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION, and Smith, HGHL, 333-34. Burton Scott Easton JUPITER AND MERCURY See ASTROLOGY, sec. III, 1; MERCURY; JUPITER.

Multi-Version Concordance Jupiter (3 Occurrences) Acts 14:12 They called Barnabas "Jupiter," and Paul "Mercury," because he was the chief speaker. (WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS) Acts 14:13 The priest of Jupiter, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and would have made a sacrifice along with the multitudes. (WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS) Acts 19:35 And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter? (KJV ASV BBE WBS)