One of the gates of Jerusalem where King Uzziah of Judah erected a tower (II Chr 26:9) and through which Nehemiah, coming from Babylon, entered the city when he went to view the walls of Jerusalem. The gate was repaired by Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah. Its exact location is disputed.

Vashti

The queen of Persia who refused to obey the command of her husband, King Ahasuerus at a feast he was holding (Est 1:12). Ahasuerus sought and followed the counsel of his

advisers who told him to repudiate her in order to ensure that “all wives will honor their husbands, both great and small” (Est 1:20). Nothing is known about her subsequent fate. Her place as queen was later taken by Esther.

Virgin Birth

A common  designation for an aspect of faith professed by many Christians. While it can refer simply to the virginal comception of Jesus in the womb of Mary without a male progenitor, it also covers the more complex belief in the three –fold virginity attributed to Mary during the course of the Christian centuries: before, during and after the birth of Jesus . Here, the focus will be primarily on the scriptural foundations for the belief and therefore limited by the evidence itself to the aspect of virginal conception.