04.13. III. Affecting the Application of Words
III. AFFECTING THE APPLICATION OF WORDS
We now come to the last class of the three great divisions of figurative language, viz., figures which involve the Application of words rather than their Meaning or Order.
These we propose to consider under those that have to do with change; not that there is any real or absolute change; but because there is a deviation or change from the literal, or from the more ordinary and usual application of words. This change is brought about and prompted by some internal action of the mind, which seeks to impress its intensity of feeling upon others. The meaning of the words themselves continues to be literal: the figure lies in the application of the words. This application arises from some actual resemblance between the words, or between two or more mental things which are before the mind. When the literal application of the words is contrary to ordinary plain human experience, or to the nature of the things themselves, then we are compelled to regard the application as figurative, though the words themselves still retain their literal meaning; otherwise, the application would lose all its force and all its point. The first three important figures in this class should be studied together: viz.: Simile (comparison by Resemblance), Metaphor (comparison by Representation), and Hypocatastasis (comparison by Implication), because they are like three degrees of comparison in the emphasis conveyed by the inter-relation of words and their application. They are the positive, comparative, and superlative degrees of relation between words and thoughts. In conforming to the order in which we are presenting these Figures of language, we lose much that would elucidate and bring out the beauties of these three. They would each gain in force and emphasis if we were to combine them in one chapter and under one head.
Even if we could present the passages out of the order of the books of the Bible, one could be made to lead on and up to another, so as to enhance the general effect and force of the subject. But we proceed on the lines we have laid down, and consider the Application of words:
1. As to Sense
-------- Simile; or, Resemblance A Declaration that one Thing resembles another; or, Comparison by Resemblance
Sim´-i-le. This is the Latin name of the figure; from similis, like, similar, resembling closely, or in many respects. This figure has no corresponding Greek name. Indeed it can hardly be called a figure, or an unusual form of expression, seeing it is quite literal, and one of the commonest forms of expression in use. It is a cold, clear, plain statement as to a resemblance between words and things. The whole application of the figure lies in this Resemblance, and not in Representation, as in Metonymy; or in Implication, as in Hypocatastasis; or, in Association, as in Synecdoche.
Accordingly, when this resemblance is not apparent, or is counter to our ordinary perception of things, it jars upon the ear. Such Similes abound in human writings. Hence the pleasure of studying the use of them in the Word of God, where we have the Holy Spirit’s own perfect work.
Many examples could be given of false, or incongruous Similes in human writings. Take, for example, Montgomery’s poem on Satan:* [Note: Quoted in Macbeth’s Might and Mirth of Literature.] “Lo! the bright dew-bead on the bramble lies, Like liquid rapture upon Beauty’s eyes.”
We fail to see any resemblance between beauteous eyes and a bramble; or, any meaning at all in “liquid rapture.” So Mrs. Browning:
“Then the bitter sea Inexorably pushed between us both; And sweeping up the steep with my despair, Threw us out as a pasture to the stars.”
We fail to see any resemblance between a ship and a pasture; and why stars go out to grass; or, when they do, why they should feed on ships and their passengers! No such inexplicable similes as these can be found in the Scriptures. When one is used there, it is “for our learning;” and the more we study it the more we may learn.
They are usually marked by the Caph (
Simile differs from Comparison, in that comparison admits of dis-similitudes as well as resemblances.
Simile differs from Allegory (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ) in that allegory names only one of the two things and leaves us to find, and make the resemblance with the other, ourselves.
Simile differs from Metaphor (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ), in that it merely states resemblance, while Metaphor boldly transfers the representation.
Simile differs from Hypocatastasis (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ), in that the latter only implies the resemblance, while Simile states it.
Simile, therefore, is destitute of feeling. It is clear, beautiful, gentle, true to fact, but cold and too deliberate for passion.
All this will be seen as the Similes are studied. They require no explanation. They explain and are intended to explain themselves. It is scarcely necessary to give any examples. They abound throughout the Scripture, and impart to it much of its beauty and force.
Psa 1:3.-“He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water.” Here, the similitude tells us that the man who meditates in God’s word is planted and protected, just as a tree in a garden is cared for as a “tree of the field” is not.
See under Ellipsis, page 97.
Psa 1:4.-“The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.” The contrast between the driven chaff and the “planted” tree is most striking and solemn. The two comparisons are the great features of the Psalm, the structure of which is as follows:- AaPsa 1:1. The godly blessed in not standing among the ungodly. bPsa 1:3. Comparison (
AcPsa 1:4. The Contrary: “not so.” bPsa 1:4. Comparison (
Then the last verse stands out alone in solemn grandeur as giving the reason for the whole.
Psa 5:12 (13).-“With favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.” And why is His “favour” (i.e., His grace, which is favour to the unworthy) like a shield? Because “in his favour is life,” Psa 30:5 (Psa 30:6); because in His favour there is mercy (Isa 60:10); because in His favour there is preservation (Psa 86:2, margin); because in His favour there is security, Psa 41:11 (Psa 41:12): and therefore the prayer of all such favoured ones will ever be Psa 106:4.
Psa 17:8.-“Keep me as the apple of the eye [is kept].”
Psa 131:2.-“I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.”
Mat 7:24-27.-Here we have a magnificent and extended Simile, almost amounting to a parable. It is too long to quote, and too plain to need elucidation. It explains to us very clearly and forcibly its own powerful lesson.
Mat 9:36.-“They … were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd.
1Pe 2:25.-“Ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.”
Here we have Simile, which stands in marked contrast to the Proverb in 2Pe 2:22, as to the “sow.” Both the stray sheep and the washed sow “return.” But the one returns to the shepherd, and the other to the mire. We may note also that the verb “returned” as used of the “sheep” is the passive form; while, as used of the “sow,” it is the active form. Showing that the “sheep” is made to return by a constraining power, while the “sow” returns of its own act and free-will. See under Parœmia.
Sometimes a Simile is really used as a figure, implying not merely a resemblance but the actual thing itself.
Gen 25:31.-“Sell me as on this day (
Num 11:1.-The Heb. reads: “And when the People was as murmurers, it was evil in the ears of Jehovah.”
Here the resemblance was real: i.e., they were murmurers.
Neh 7:2.-“I gave my brother Hanani … charge over Jerusalem: for he acted as a faithful man (
Isa 1:7.-“It is desolate as the overthrow of strangers.” See A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] margin.
See under Antimereia, and compare Isa 13:6.
Isa 1:9.-“Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.”
Here the words of the godly remnant declare the resemblance; and in the next verse Jehovah endorses it as true; addressing the ungodly but most religious nation actually as “the rulers of Sodom” and “the people of Gomorrah.”
Psa 122:3.-“Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together”: i.e., it was a city so built.
Hos 5:10.-“The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound”: i.e., they actually committed this sin, the greatness of which is seen from Deu 19:14; Deu 27:17.
Mat 14:5.-“Because they counted him as a prophet”: i.e., as actually a prophet.
Luk 22:44.-“His sweat was as it were great drops of blood”: i.e., it was.
John 1:14.-“And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father”: i.e., the glory of Him who was really the only begotten Son of the Father.
Rom 9:32.-“Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were (i.e., actually) by the works of the law.”
2Co 2:17.-“We are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ”: i.e., we speak really and truly sincere, pure, and Divine words.
2Co 3:18.-“We are all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror (
Sometimes the word “as” is followed by the word “so,” to strengthen and heighten the comparison, and make it more clear: as in Isa 24:2.-“And it shall be As with the people, So with the priest; As with the servant, So with his master; As with the maid, So with her mistress; As with the buyer, So with the seller; As with the lender, So with the borrower; As with the taker of usury, So with the giver of usury to him.” And all this to show the universality of the judgment which shall make the land empty and desolate. This is a combination of Syncrisis with this form of Simile.
Isa 55:10, 11.- a“As the rain cometh down, and the snow bFrom heaven, cAnd returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, dThat it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater. aSo shall my word be that goeth forth bOut of my mouth: cIt shall not return unto me void, dBut it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
Here, in this beautiful comparison, we have in a and a the two things compared, the Word resembling the rain and snow; in b and b we have their source; in c and c, their destiny, not returning void; and in d and d, their end prospering, end the accomplishment of their mission.
“AS” and “SO.”
We have collected a number of these examples of the use of “as” and “so” together; and arranged them, not in the sequence of the books of the Bible, or in full; but we have numbered them and placed them so as to illustrate the ways of God in grace:-
1.Sin and death (Rom 5:12). These words explain the mystery of the first and last Adam, and the first and second man: their temptation and its results as shown in Gen 3:1-24, Mat 4:1-25, and Rom 6:23. This explains 2.Offence and righteousness: judgment and free gift (Rom 5:18); also 3.Disobedience and obedience: sinners and righteous (Rom 5:19). Hence the eternal results of 4.Sin and death: grace and eternal life (Rom 5:21).
Now we pass from sin and its entrance and consequences to
5.its remedy. The Serpent and the Son of Man (John 3:14). Note the two “musts” (John 3:7 and John 3:14); and the parabolic miracle of Num 21:5-9. Note the “lifting up” spoken of in John 12:32. The “all” means all without distinction (no longer the one People of Israel) not “all” without exception. In due time Christ came to be thus “lifted up,” and 6.do the Father’s will, and Commandment, and He did (John 14:31), and 7.suffered; Lamb dumb, and so He; etc. (Isa 53:7). Hence 8.Once to die, and once offered (Heb 9:27-28).
Then 9.they are sent, “Sent Me” and “sent them” (John 17:18) 10.to bear testimony of His grace: “Believed” and “done” (Mat 8:13), 11.yea, of His life-giving grace: Life (John 5:26).
12.God reveals Himself: Heaven and earth; ways and thoughts (Isa 55:9), and 13.man, morally: Foolish as a beast (Psa 73:22).
14.Fathers and sons, etc., ye (Acts 7:51); and 15.physically, the Flower that flourisheth (Psa 103:15).
Then He reveals 16.His mercy: Heaven high and mercy great (Psa 103:11), 17.His forgiveness: East from west and trangressions removed (Psa 103:12), 18.His pity: A father and the Lord (Psa 103:13), and 19.His love: The Father and I (John 15:9).
Then He reveals 20.our relationships and duties: Many members and one body (Rom 12:4; see 1Co 12:12-13).
21.Mutual forgiveness: Christ forgave and do ye (Col 3:13), 22.Christ-like walk: Received and walk ye (Col 2:6).
23. Divine consolations: Sufferings and consolation (2Co 1:5; 2Co 1:7).
24.Missionary work: Received and minister (1Pe 4:10); with 25.the Divine promise, Rain and snow: the word of God (Isa 55:10-11); and 26.the Divine support, Thy days and thy strength (Deu 33:25).
Oh may our desire to do His will be according to, 27.The hart panting, and the soul longing (Psa 42:1 (Psa 42:2)). The JEW.
28. All blessing based on God’s original covenant-promise; Stars and seed (Jer 33:22), see especially Gen 15:5, and Rom 4:18. The covenant of works they brake, see Exo 24:3; Exo 24:7 and Jer 31:32, and are now suffering the consequences.
29. The future blessing of Israel will be under the original covenant, of grace: as Mother comforteth, so will I comfort (Isa 66:13).
30. Bridegroom and thy God (Isa 62:5).
31. The waters of Noah, and wrath (Isa 54:9-10).
32.Shepherd seeking and I will seek (Eze 34:12). The GENTILE. We must not separate what God has joined together, nor join together what God has separated (Mat 19:6). The Jew, the Gentile, and the Church of God, are distinct in their calling, standing, hope, and destiny (1Co 10:32). The preaching of the Gospel is not to convert the world, but to take out a People (Acts 15:14); while the world will get worse and worse until Christ suddenly comes.
33. Lightning, and coming (Mat 24:27).
34.The days of Noah, and the coming of the Son of Man (Mat 24:37-39). The CHURCH OF GOD. Christ’s advent will wear a different aspect to the Church. Not like the lightning or a thief, but
35. “this same Jesus.” As ye have seen Him go will so come (Acts 1:11). Christ’s resurrection is the type and pledge of ours.
36. As all in Adam die, so all in Christ made alive (1Co 15:22). Note the “order” (1Co 15:23-24).
-------- Syncrisis; or, Repeated Simile Repetition of a number of Resemblances
Syn´-cri-sis. Greek,
Hence, Syncrisis is the judging or comparing of one thing with another; and is used of the figure which consists of a repeated Simile, or of more than one, or of a number of separate comparisons used together.
Another name for this figure is PARATHESIS (Pa-rath´-e-sis), Greek,
It was called by the Latins COMPARATIO: i.e., a bringing together and comparing.
Isa 1:18.- “Though your sins be as scarlet, They shall be as white as snow;
Though they be red like crimson, They shall be as wool.”
Isa 32:2.-“And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.”
Isa 66:12.-“For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream.”
-------- Metaphor; or, Representation A Declaration that one Thing is (or represents) another; or, Comparison by Representation
Met´-a-phor. Greek,
Hence, while the Simile gently states that one thing is like or resembles another, the Metaphor boldly and warmly declares that one thing IS the other.
While the Simile says “All flesh is AS grass” (1Pe 1:24), the Metaphor carries the figure across at once, and says “All flesh IS grass” (Isa 40:6). This is the distinction between the two. The Metaphor is, therefore, not so true to fact as the Simile, but is much truer to feeling. The Simile says “All we like sheep,” while the Metaphor declares that “we are the sheep of His pasture.”
While, therefore, the word “resembles” marks the Simile: “represents” is the word that marks the metaphor.
We have recourse to Metaphor when we say of a picture, “This is my father,” or “This is my mother.” The verb “is” means in this case represents; there may not be the least resemblance! The verb “is” always has this meaning and no other when used as a metaphor. No other verb will do.
Few figures are more misunderstood than the Metaphor. It is one of the few whose names are well known, and hence it has become. a general term for any figure; and any figurative language is commonly called “metaphorical.”
Few figures have been more variously defined. But all the differences of opinion arise from not separating the figure Hypocatastasis (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ) on the one hand, or distinguishing Simile on the other. The same confusion is seen with reference to Allegory (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ).
Let it then be clearly understood that a Metaphor is confined to a distinct affirmation that one thing is another thing, owing to some association or connection in the uses or effects of anything expressed or understood. The two nouns themselves must both be mentioned, and are always to be taken in their absolutely literal sense, or else no one can tell what they mean. The figure lies wholly in the verb, or copula, which, in English, must always be expressed, and never understood by Ellipsis. For example, “All flesh is grass.” Here “flesh” is to be taken literally as the subject spoken of, and “grass” is to be taken equally literally as that which represents “flesh.” All the figure lies in the verb “is.” This statement is made under strong feeling, the mind realising some point of association; but, instead of using the more measured verb “resembles,” or “is like”; which would be truer to fact, though not so true to feeling; the verb “is” is used, and the meaning of one thing is carried across and transferred to the other. It is not, as some might think, a mere Hebrew idiom to use “is” for “represents”; but it is a necessity of language arising from the actual condition and character of the human mind.
We must, therefore, banish the common and loose way in which the words “metaphor” and “metaphorical” are used, and confine the figure strictly and exclusively to this, its one true and proper signification: that of representation. The Representation referred to in the figure may not lie upon the surface, and may not be at all apparent in the language itself. It may be in the uses of the thing represented, or in the effects which it produces. In this case the Metaphor often comes as a surprise, by the discovery of a point in which two apparently unrelated objects have some point in which they really agree. Hence the same thing may be used, by a Metaphor, to represent two totally different objects by some different quality or character which may be referred to: e.g., a lion is used both of Christ and of the devil. We are to “cease from man” as opposed to trust in God; we are exhorted to “quit” ourselves like men as opposed to all that is effeminate. The Latins* [Note: Cicero. Orat. xxvii.] called the figure TRANSLATIO: i.e., Translation, thus denoting the same fact: viz., the translation or carrying across of one thing and applying it to another which represents it, just as what is meant in one language is carried across and expressed or translated in the words of another language.
It should be observed that the Hebrew has no verb substantive or copula answering to the Greek and English verb “to be.” Consequently the A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] generally puts in italics the verbs “is,” “are,” “were,” etc. The verb “to be,” though it is not necessary to be expressed in Hebrew, is yet so really there that the R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] has abandoned the use of italic type with regard to it in the Old Testament, and so the Revisers state it in their preface. We prefer the practice of the translators of the A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] , and believe it is more correct. In the Greek, as we shall see below, whenever a Metaphor is intended, the verb substantative must be used; otherwise it is often omitted according to the Hebrew usage (see the Beatitudes, etc.). It is, therefore, more easy to discern a Metaphor in the New Testament than in the Old. In the latter we have to be guided by what is true to fact and what is true only to feeling. If we distinguish between these, we shall not fail to see what is a statement of fact, and what is a Metaphor.
Psa 23:1.-“The Lord is my Shepherd.” Here, we have a Metaphor; and in it a great and blessed truth is set forth by the representation of Jehovah as a Shepherd. It is He who tends his People, and does more for them than any earthly shepherd does for his sheep All His titles and attributes are so bound up with this care that in this Psalm we have the illustration of all the Jehovah-titles:- In Psa 23:1. “I shall not want,” because He is Jehovah-Jireh (Gen 22:14), and will provide. In Psa 23:2. “He leadeth me beside the waters of quietness (margin), because He is Jehovah-Shalom (Jdg 6:24), and will give peace. In Psa 23:3. “He restoreth my soul,” for He is Jehovah-Rophecha (Exo 15:26), and will graciously heal. In Psa 23:3. He guides me “in the paths of righteousness,” for He is Jehovah-tzidkenu (Jer 23:6), and is Himself my righteousness, and I am righteous in Him (Jer 33:16). In Psa 23:4. In death’s dark valley “Thou art with me,” for thou art Jehovah-shammah (Eze 48:35), and the Lord is there. In Psa 23:5. “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies,” for Thou art Jehovah-nissi (Exo 17:15), my banner, and will fight for me, while I feast. In Psa 23:5. “Thou anointest my head with oil,” for Thou art Jehovah-mekaddeschem (Exo 31:13, etc.), the Lord that sanctifieth me. In Psa 23:6. “Surely” all these blessings are mine for time and eternity, for He is Jehovah-rohi (Psa 23:1), Jehovah my Shepherd, pledged to raise me up from the dead, and to preserve and bring me “through” the valley of death into His glorious kingdom (John 6:39).
Psa 84:11 (Psa 84:12).-“The Lord God is a Sun and Shield.” Here, the Metaphor is taken from the uses and effects of the two things mentioned. He is my light and my defence. See P.B.V. [Note: .B.V. The Prayer Book Version of the Psalms (from Coverdale’s Bible).]
Psa 91:4.-“His truth is a shield and a buckler” (R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] ). Here, we have the Metaphor, by which the one thing is carried over and stated as being the other. In Psa 5:12, we have the same fact stated literally as a Simile. See page 728 above.
Metaphors are so numerous in the Old Testament, that it is impossible to give more than these few to serve as specimens and examples. We add a few from the New Testament.
Mat 5:13.-“Ye are the salt of the earth”: i.e., ye are (or represent) with regard to the earth what salt is to other things, preserving it from total corruption and destruction; just as the few righteous in Sodom would have preserved that city. When the Lord Jesus shall have returned and caught up His People (the salt) to meet Him in the air and to be for ever with Him, then the corruption will proceed apace, and the harvest of the earth speedily be ripened for judgment.
Mat 26:26.-“This is my body” (
Few passages have been more perverted than these simple words. Rome has insisted on the literal or the figurative sense of words just as it suits her own purpose, and not at all according to the laws of philology and the true science of language.
Hence the Latin idiom, “agere pœnitentiam,” repent, has been rendered literally in all her versions from the Vulgate, in various languages, “do penance,” except when God is said to repent! Rome dared not translate agere pœnitentiam literally in these cases, which proves her design in thus systematically perverting the Word of God: and the false doctrine is thus forced into the words under a show or semblance of literal translation.* [Note: Rome would not dare to translate the same Latin idiom “agere vitam,” to do life, though the expression has passed into slang. It means simply to live, as the other idiom means to repent.] So the Metaphor, “This is my body,” has been forced to teach false doctrine by being translated literally. No perversion of language has been fraught with greater calamity to the human race. Tens of thousands have suffered martyrdom at the hands of Rome rather than believe the “blasphemous fable” forced into these words. The exquisite tortures of the Inquisition were invented to coerce the consciences of men and compel them to accept this lie!
Luther himself was misled, through his ignorance of this simple law of figurative language. In his controversy with Zwingle, he obstinately persisted in maintaining the literal sense of the figure, and thus forced it to have a meaning which it never has. He thus led the whole of Germany into his error! For, while his common sense rejected the error of “Transubstantiation,” he fell into another, and invented the figment of “Consubstantiation,” and fastened it upon the Lutheran Church to this day.
What a solemn and instructive lesson as to the importance of a true understanding of the figures of language! The whole figure, in a metaphor, lies, as we have said, in the verb substantive “IS”; and not in either of the two nouns; and it is a remarkable fact that, when a pronoun is used instead of one of the nouns (as it is here), and the two nouns are of different genders, the pronoun is always made to agree in gender with that noun to which the meaning is carried across, and not with the noun from which it is carried, and to which it properly belongs. This at once shows us that a figure is being employed; when a pronoun, which ought, according to the laws of language, to agree in gender with its own noun, is changed, and made to agree with the noun which, by Metaphor, represents it.
Here, for example, the pronoun, “this” (
Luk 8:14, “These are they which having heard,” etc. Here, “these” (masc.) (
All this establishes our statement that, in a Metaphor, the two nouns (or pronoun and noun) are always literal, and that the figure lies only in the verb. Another remarkable fact is that in the vast number of cases where the language is literal, and there is no metaphor at all, the verb is omitted altogether.* [Note: This rule does not apply to the Hebrew, of course, as we have said above: because it has no verb “to be.”] Even when a Metaphor has been used, and the language passes suddenly from figurative to literal, the verb is at once dropped, by Ellipsis, as not being necessary for the literal sense, as it was for the previous figurative expression: e.g., in 1Co 12:27, “Ye ARE the body of Christ.” Here is a metaphor, and consequently the verb is used. But in 1Co 12:29, which is literal, the Change is at once made, and the fact is marked by the omission of the verb,” [Are] all apostles? [are] all prophets? [are] all teachers? [are] all workers of miracles?”
Next compare other examples of Metaphors which are naturally used in the explanations of Parables. Note the Parables of the Sower, and of the Tares (Mat 13:19-23; Mat 13:37-43).
“He that soweth the good seed is (i.e., represents) the Son of man.”
“The field is (i.e., signifies) the world.”
“The good seed are the children of the kingdom.”
“But the tares are the children of the wicked one.”
“The enemy that sowed them is the devil.”
“The harvest is the end of the age.”
“And the reapers are the angels.” In all these (as in every other Metaphor) the verb means, and might have been rendered, “represents,” or “signifies.” The Apocalypse is full of metaphors, e.g.:
“The seven stars are (ie., represent) the angels of the seven churches.”
“And the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches” (1:20). The odours “are the prayers of the saints” (5:8).
“They are the spirits of demons” (16:14).
“The seven heads are (i.e., represent) seven mountains (17:9): etc., etc. So in the very words that follow “this is (i.e., represents or signifies) my body,” we have an undoubted Metaphor. “He took the cup … saying … this is my blood.” Here, thus, we have a pair of metaphors. In the former one, “this” refers to “bread,” and it is claimed that “is” means changed into the “body” of Christ. In the latter, “this” refers to “the cup,” but it is not claimed that the cup is changed into “blood.” At least, we have never heard that such a claim has been put forward. The difference of treatment which the same figure meets with in these two verses is the proof that the former is wrong. In 1Co 11:25 we read “this cup is the new covenant.” Will Romanists, in and out of the Church of England, tell us how this “cup” becomes transubstantiated into a “covenant”? Is it not clear that the figure in the words, “This is my body,” is forced into a literal statement with the set purpose and design of making it teach and support erroneous doctrine?
Other examples of Metaphor in this immediate connection are:
1Co 10:16.-“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not (i.e., does it not represent) the communion of the blood of Christ.” through which all blessing comes to us?
“The bread which we break, is it not (i.e., does it not represent) the communion of the body of Christ?” i.e., does it not signify the fellowship of all the members of Christ’s mystical body, who, being many, are one body (1Co 12:12)? “For we being many are one bread, and one body,” as 1Co 10:17 declares.
It is because those who eat of that bread do not “discern” or discriminate that “one body” (i.e., Christ mystical) that they are said to eat to their own condemnation; for they witness to the fact of that “great Mystery” and yet are ignorant of its truth! And hence they condemn themselves.
Further, the verb,
“But go ye and learn what that is” (i.e., meaneth, as in A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] ), Mat 9:13.
“But if ye had known what that is” (A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] , meaneth), Mat 12:7.
“He asked what these things were” (A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] , meant), Luk 15:26.
“What is this?” (A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] , “What meaneth this?”) Acts 2:12.
“Now, while Peter doubted in himself what this vision was which he had seen” (A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] , “What this vision should mean”), Acts 10:17, etc., etc., etc. On the other hand, if an actual change is meant, then there must be a verb which shall plainly and actually say so: for the verb “to be” never has or conveys any idea of such change. The usual verb to express such a change is
Luk 4:3, “Command this stone that it be made (i.e., changed into) bread.”
John 2:9, “When the ruler of the feast tasted the water that was made (i.e., changed into) wine.”
John 16:20, “Your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” This was a real transubstantiation.
Acts 26:28, Agrippa said, “Almost thou persuadest me to be (i.e., to become) a Christian.”
Rev 8:8, “The third part of the sea became blood,” and in verse 11, “Many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.” In all these cases (but the last) the verb is
Just as when we are looking over a map and say, “This is England,” “This is America,” “This is Palestine,” etc., we do not mean that that piece of paper is England, but we mean that those marks upon it represent those respective countries. From all this it is philologically, philosophically, and scientifically clear that the words, “This is my body,” mean “This [bread] represents my body.” And as Professor Macbeth has put it, “We trample on the laws of nature, and we trample on the laws of language when we force the verb ‘is’ to mean what it never does mean.”
And, besides all this, to pass from the use made of this perversion, suppose for a moment that we grant the claim, and the words mean that the Lord Jesus then and there did transmute the bread into His own body (if we can imagine such an impossibility!), what then? Where is there a breath about His giving that power to any one else? Where is there one word about such gifts being conferred? And, if it be claimed, as it is by some traitors in the Church of England, that the words, “Do this,” convey that power and authority, it could have been conveyed only to the eleven that were present. Where is there a breath about not only giving them power, but delegating it to them to give to others, and these to others again indefinitely? There is not one single word expressed or implied that conveys the idea that one iota of such power was conferred or delegated. So that the whole fabric of transubstantiation rests on absolutely no foundation whatsoever! There is a “missing link” which is fatal to the whole position. And this, on the assumption which we have only for the moment granted. But, when it is seen that not only is there this link missing, which can never be supplied: but that there is also this claim which can never be substantiated; we have an explanation of the Metaphor which sweeps the dogma out of the Scriptures, and proves it to be a fiction which is the outcome of ignorance, and this by arguments that cannot be overthrown, and facts that cannot be denied.
John 6:35. “I am the bread of life: i.e., what bread does in supporting natural life is a representation of what Christ does in supporting and nourishing the new, Divine, spiritual life.
John 8:12.-“I am the light of the world.”
John 10:9.-“I am the door”: i.e., I am what a door is. I am the entrance to the sheepfold, and to the Father. Yes, a door, and not a flight of steps. A door, through which we pass in one movement from one side to the other.
John 15:5.-“I am the true vine.”
Here the word
-------- Hypocatastasis; or, Implication A Declaration that implies the Resemblance or Representation; or Comparison by Implication
Hy´-po-cat-as´-ta-sis. Greek,
What a proof of the sad neglect into which this great subject has fallen; and what an example of the consequent loss which has ensued. This beautiful and far-reaching figure frequently occurs in Scripture. The Lord Jesus Himself often used it, and that with wonderful effect. Its beauty and force will be at once seen, if we compare one or two passages.
When, in Jer 49:19, we read of the king of Babylon coming up against Edom, it says: “Behold, he shall come up like a lion … against the habitation of the strong”: etc. Here, we have a Simile, and the feelings are unmoved, as it is only against Edom that the assault is made. But it is a very different case in Jer 4:7, where the same king of Babylon is spoken of as coming up against Zion. In the heat of excited feeling he is not named, but only implied.
“The lion is come up from his thicket.”
So, in all the other cases, it will be well to contrast every example of Hypocatastasis with both Simile and Metaphor, in order to gather the full force of its meaning and the reason for its use instead of either of the other two.
Psa 22:16 (Psa 22:17).-“Dogs have compassed me about.”
Here He does not say that his enemies were like dogs, or that they were dogs; no: the word “enemies” is not mentioned. It is implied: and by a kind of Prosopopoeia, they are spoken of as “dogs.” It means of course, “mine enemies have compassed me about” as the next. sentence goes on to explain. See also under Paronomasia.
Mat 15:13.-“Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.” This is Hypocatastasis, bordering on Allegory. Persons are implied, though only plants are named. The solemn lesson of this implication is, that unless the work in the heart be that of God Himself, all is vain. It is useless therefore to attempt to effect conversion or to impart a new nature by personal appeals, persuasions, or excitement. This is only to make the flesh religious, and “that which is born of the flesh is flesh.”
Mat 16:6.-“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the Sadducees.” There the word “doctrine” is implied. Had the Lord said, “the doctrine of the Pharisees is like leaven,” that would have been Simile, and a cold, bare statement of fact; but He did not say so. Had He said “the doctrine of the Pharisees is leaven,” that would have been Metaphor; much bolder, much more forcible, but not so true to fact though much truer to truth. But He did not say so. He took the word “doctrine” and put it down underneath, and did not mention it at all. He only implied it: and this was Hypocatastasis. No wonder then that the attention of the disciples was excited and attracted. No wonder their interest was aroused: for this was the Lord’s object.
“They reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand?… How is it that ye do not understand that I spake not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Saducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Mat 16:6-12). This example is remarkable when we compare it with another, in the previous chapter, which we give next; and out of its textual order for the purpose of contrast.
Mat 15:26.-“It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.” Here, the Lord Jesus, did not say to the woman of Canaan, Thou art a dog of the Gentiles (which would have been Metaphor), but He left out all reference to her, and only referred to her by implication, substituting a “dog” for herself. The woman, unlike the disciples (in Mat 16:1-28), at once saw and understood what the Lord implied, viz., that it was not meet to take that which belonged to Israel and give it to a Gentile (or a dog of a Gentile as they were called by the Jews), “And she said, Truth, Lord.” What she felt is clear: “It is quite true; Thou art perfectly right; I called Thee ‘the Son of David,’ and deserved no answer; I pleaded for ‘help’ and said: ‘Lord, help me’; but I made no confession as to who the ‘me’ was: no acknowledgment of my unworthiness and unmeetness as ‘a dog of the Gentiles.’ ” “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master’s table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith.”
So, it is “great faith” to understand what the Lord implied by the use of this beautiful figure, and it is “little faith” not to understand it! even though the former was spoken of a Gentile woman, and the latter of the apostles of the Lord. See also under Synecdoche and Meiosis.
John 2:19.-“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Lord Jesus did not say that His body was like the temple (that would have been Simile), or that it was His body (that would have been Metaphor). He merely implied the word body, as John 2:21 plainly declares: “He spake of the temple of his body.”
Here was neither “great faith” nor “little faith,” but wilful unbelief of His words. His disciples remembered them after He was raised from the dead, and believed. His enemies remembered them before and perverted them: “This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days” (Mat 26:61). He said no such thing. What He foretold was that they would destroy “this temple” of His body, and that He should raise it again from the dead in three days, and build it again. See also under Heterosis.
Other examples are:-
Mat 3:10.-“Where, by the axe being laid to the root of the trees, etc., is implied the result of the ministry of John the Baptist. The same is the case with Mat 3:12.
Mat 5:29-30.-“May also be explained by this figure better than by Hyperbole (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ). The right eye, etc., is compared by implication to the most highly prized possession.
Mat 7:3-5.-“The mote and beam refer by implication to anything that perverts the vision.
Mat 7:6.-“Here “dogs” and “swine” are compared by implication to persons.
Mark 1:17.-“I will make you to become fishers of men.” The Lord does not say like fishers, nor does He use direct metaphor. The resemblance is only by implication.
Acts 20:29.-“I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.”
Thus does the Holy Spirit inform us, by Implication, as to the true character of “apostolic succession,” in order to impress the solemn fact on our minds.
-------- Allegory; or, Continued Metaphor and Hypocatastasis Continued Comparison by Representation or Implication
Al´-le-go-ry. Greek,
Few figures have been the subject of greater controversy than Allegory; or, have been more variously defined. One class of Rhetoricians declare that it is a continued metaphor: and another class declare that it is not. But, as is often the case under such circumstances, neither is quite correct, because both have a part of the truth and put it for the whole. Neither of the contending parties takes into consideration the existence of Hypocatastasis. And this fact accounts for the confusion, not only with regard to Allegory, but also with regard to Metaphor.
All three figures are based on comparison. Simile is comparison by resemblance; Metaphor is comparison by representation; Hypocatastasis is comparison by implication. In the first the comparison is stated; in the second it is substituted; in the third it is implied.
Thus Allegory is a continuation of the latter two, Metaphor or Hypocatastasis; while the Parable (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ) is a continuation of the Simile. This definition clears the whole ground, and explains the whole of the difficulties, and reconciles the different schools. The Allegory, therefore, is of two kinds; one in which it is continued Metaphor (as in Psa 23:1-6), where the two things are both mentioned (Jehovah, and the Shepherd’s care), and what is asserted belongs to the principal object; the other, in which it is continued Hypocatastasis (Psa 80:8-15), where only one thing is mentioned (the vine), and what is asserted belongs properly to the Secondary object; viz., to Israel. Israel whom it really refers, is not mentioned, but only implied.
Isa 5:1-6.-“This is an Allegory which combines both forms. “Judah and Jerusalem” (concerning whom Isaiah prophecies Isa 1:1) are again represented as a vine, and the Allegory commences by implying them, and afterwards proceeds to substitute them (Isa 5:3-7).
Allegory thus differs from Parable, for a parable is a continued Simile. It never departs from the simple statement that one thing resembles another. While the allegory represents, or implies, that the one thing is the other. As in the allegory of the Pilgrim’s Progress: What is spoken of one person refers to another person in similar circumstances and experiences. In Psa 80:1-19 and Isa 5:1-30, what is spoken of a Vine refers to Israel: but, in Genesis, what is stated of Israel and Ishmael, Sarah and Hagar is all true history, yet in Gal 4:1-31 it is made to speak of and set forth other truths, and hence there it is, and is called an “Allegory” (Gal 4:24). No figure requires more careful discrimination than Allegory. And it would be safer to say that there are no allegories in Scripture than to follow one’s own judgment as to what is allegory, and what is not. At any rate, we have only one which is distinctly declared to be such; and that is Gal 4:22; Gal 4:24. “It is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bond-woman was born after the flesh; but he of the free-woman was by promise. Which things are an Allegory”: or, which things teach or tell us something beyond what is said. The modern and common usage of the word allegoria is thus quite different from this Scriptural definition. According to the modern sense it is taken to mean a fictitious narrative which has another and deeper meaning than that which is expressed. An allegory may sometimes be fictitious, but Gal 4:1-31 shows us that a true history may be allegorized (i.e., be shown to have further teaching in that which actually took place) without detracting from the truth of the history. Here note this important fact: that, in either case, Allegory is always stated in the past tense, and never in the future. Allegory is thus distinguished from Prophecy. The Allegory brings other teaching out of past events, while the prophecy tells us events that are yet to come, and means exactly what is said.
Gen 49:1-33.-“The prophetical blessing of Jacob is mixed. Part of it is Simile (Gen 49:4). Some is Metaphor (Gen 49:9). In some parts the Metaphors are repeated, in which case we have Allegory.
Jdg 9:7-15.-“This is not a parable, as the A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] chapter-heading calls it; because there is no similitude, by which one thing is likened to another. It is a continued Hypocatastasis, only one of the two things being plainly mentioned. Were it not for the interpretation given, in Jdg 9:16-20, there would be nothing beyond what is implied.
It is interesting to note that the four trees referred to-“the Fig-tree, the Olive, the vine, and the Bramble-“are the four which are used to combine the whole of Israel’s history. The fig-tree represents the National position of Israel, from which we learn (in the Synoptic Gospels) that it withered away and has been cut down. The olive tree represents the Covenant privileges of Israel (Rom 11:1-36): which are now in abeyance. The vine represents Israel’s Spiritual blessings, which henceforth are to be found only in Christ, the True Vine (John 15:1-27). The bramble represents the Antichrist, in whose shadow they will yet trust, but who will be to Israel a consuming fire in the day of “Jacob’s trouble”-“the great Tribulation.”* [Note: See Things to Come for July, 1899. A. Holness, 14 Paternoster Row.]
Isa 28:20 is Allegory: i.e., repeated Hypocatastasis, only one part of the figure being mentioned: viz., the bed and its covering, and not the people to whom it refers. The prophet is speaking of the great fear which ought to agitate the people of Judea at the speedy coming of Sennacherib; but they preferred to be left in their false security. By this beautiful allegorical illustration they are informed that their rest should be restless, and their sleep should be soon disturbed.
Mat 3:10; Mat 3:12 is repeated Hypocatastasis, and therefore Allegory.
Mat 5:13 is the same, following on “Ye are the salt of the earth,” which is Metaphor.
Mat 7:3-5 is the same; only one thing, the mote and the beam, being named. What they mean is only implied.
Mat 9:15 is the same, the meaning being implied.
Mat 9:16-17.-“The “old piece” on the new implies the solemn lesson as to the impossibility of reforming the Old nature.
Mat 12:43-45.-“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man,” etc. This is an Allegory. It is to be interpreted of the Jewish nation, as Mat 12:45 declares. By application also it teaches the unclean spirit’s going out of his own accord, and not being “cast out” (Mat 12:28-29). When he is “cast out,” he never returns; but when he “goes out,” he comes back; and finds only a “reformed character,” instead of the Holy Spirit indwelling in the one who is born again.
Luk 9:62.-“No man having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” This is a brief allegory. For other examples, see John 4:35. Rom 11:16-18, etc.; Rom 13:11-12. 1Co 3:6-8; 1Co 3:12-15; 1Co 5:7-8. 2Co 3:2-3; 2Co 5:1, etc.; 2Co 10:3-5; 2Co 11:2. Gal 6:8. Eph 6:11, etc.
-------- Parabola; or, Parable: i.e., Continued Simile Comparison by continued Resemblance
Par-ab´-o-la. Greek,
1Sa 10:12 : We read of “the proverb,” “Is Saul also among the prophets?” So 1Sa 24:14 (1Sa 24:13): Of “the proverb of the ancients,” “Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked.” Compare Eze 12:22; Eze 16:44; Eze 18:2. Deu 28:37. 2Ch 7:20. Psa 44:14 (Psa 44:15). Jer 24:9. But see below under Parœmia.
Growing out of this came a later meaning of
(1) “A certain man” sends “his servant” to those who had been previously “bidden.” This was Peter’s first ministry (Acts 2:1-47; Acts 3:1-26; Acts 4:1-37; Acts 5:1-42; Acts 6:1-15; Acts 7:1-60). All excuse themselves.
(2) The “master of the house” sends him again to “the streets and lanes of the city.” This is Peter’s second ministry (Acts 10:1-48; Acts 11:1-30; Acts 12:1-25).
(3) Then “the lord” sends out another servant to “the highways and hedges.” This is Paul’s ministry to the great Gentile world (Acts 13:1-52; Acts 14:1-28; Acts 15:1-41; Acts 16:1-40; Acts 17:1-34; Acts 18:1-28; Acts 19:1-41; Acts 20:1-38; Acts 21:1-40; Acts 22:1-30; Acts 23:1-35; Acts 24:1-27; Acts 25:1-27; Acts 26:1-32; Acts 27:1-44; Acts 28:1-31)
Parables are used from the resemblance of one thing to another. The thing, or history, or story may be true or imaginary; but the events must be possible, or likely to have happened; at any rate those who hear must believe that they are possible events, though it is not necessary that the speaker should believe them. Where they are impossible, such as trees or animals speaking and reasoning, we have Fable; and if the Fable is explained, then we have Allegory (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ). See Jdg 9:8-15, where we should have Fable, but for the application of it, which we have in Jdg 9:16, which renders it Allegory.
We do not propose to give even a list of the parables of Scripture, as they can be so easily and readily found by the reader.
One word of caution, however, we must give: and that is concerning the object of parables. The common idea is that they are intended to make things clear and plain. Hence every young minister and Sunday-school teacher turns to the parables as though they were the simplest things in the world. Whereas they were spoken that the truth might be veiled from those who “seeing, see not: and hearing, hear not.” See Mat 13:10-17. Hence they are among the most difficult portions of God’s Word.
Without wearying the student with all the varying definitions and explanations which Rhetoricians and Divines have given, we add what is perhaps the best classification of Similitudes, viz.: that by P. Rutilius Lupus.
I. Paradeigma.
1. Persons without words.
2. Words without persons.
3. Both persons and words.
II. Parabola or Parable.
1. Icon. Simile forming a complete image.
2. Homœon. Simile founded on certain points only.
3. Epagoge. Argument from induction.
-------- Apologue; or, Fable A Fictitious Narrative used for Illustration
Ap´-o-logue. Greek,
Jdg 9:8-15 would be a Fable, were it not explained in Jdg 9:16. As it is, there are no examples of Fable, as such, in the Word of God.
-------- Parœmia; or, Proverb A wayside-saying in common use
Par-oi´-mi-a.
Like Parable, Parœmia is used in the Septuagint Version to translate the Hebrew word
Hence it is plain that there must be a close connection between “a rule” and “a proverb.” This connection may be illustrated by our phrase “a ruling principle”; and by the fact that we might term what we call ‘the Proverbs of Solomon’ ‘Solomon’s Rules’; since that is just what they are: rules for guiding life. Indeed, if we ask what is the derivation of the word “Maxim,” we may find its history not unlike that of
Parœmiœ or Proverbs occuring in Scripture may be divided into three classes:- (1) Those that are quoted as being already in use as such.
(2) Those which, though not quoted as such, were very probably already in use as proverbial expressions.
(3) Those which appear for the first time in Scripture; but which, owing to their fulness of meaning and their wide application, have since passed into general use as proverbial sayings.
1. Parœmiœ which are quoted as being already in use as such
Gen 10:9.-“He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, ‘Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord’ ” (R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] ).
Num 21:27.-“Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, ‘Come into Heshbon, Let the city of Sihon be built and prepared,’ ” etc.
Three strophes are given from a popular poem, introduced by the word “wherefore.” The first (Num 21:27-28) is an ironical call to the Amorites to rebuild their city Heshbon, which Israel had destroyed (see Num 21:25-26). The second (Num 21:29) is a prophecy of Moab’s ruin. The third (Num 21:30) is the justification of the woe pronounced in Num 21:29.
Num 21:30 is obscure, because of the reading of the letter
1Sa 24:13.-“As saith the proverb of the ancients, ‘Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.’ ”
2Sa 20:18.-“They were wont to speak in old time, saying, ‘They shall surely ask counsel at Abel’: and so they ended the matter.”
Jer 31:29.-“In those days they shall say no more, ‘The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ ” This is what they did once say. See Eze 18:2-3.
Eze 16:44.-“Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying: ‘As is the mother, so is her daughter.’ ” See Eze 19:2-3.
Luk 4:23.-“Ye will surely say unto me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal thyself’ ” This was a well known proverb. It may be found in the Talmud, “Physician, heal thine own lameness.”* [Note: Beresh. rab. sect. 23, and in Tanchuma, fol. 4. 2.] John 1:46 (John 1:47).-“Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” This appears from John 7:41-42, John 7:52, to have been a proverb already in use.
John 4:37.-“And herein is that saying true; ‘One soweth, and another reapeth.’ ”
2Pe 2:22.-“But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb (Pro 26:11):
“The dog is turned to his own vomit again; And the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” When we contrast this with 1Pe 2:25, we see how forcible is the difference between the saved sinner and the “reformed character.” The saint may go astray, and the ungodly may reform; but they both turn again, the one to his Shepherd, and the other to his mire! There is all the difference in the world between a dirty sheep and a washed sow! It is not that which goeth into the mouth that defileth the man, but that which cometh out of the heart (Mat 15:17-20). The mouth, dish, or sepulchre, may be cleansed or whitened without, but within it is all uncleanness (Mat 23:25-28).
“Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (1Sa 16:7).
Truly “the Lord seeth not as man seeth.”
How many hirelings are there who are engaged in merely washing sows and amusing goats, instead of seeking out and feeding Christ’s harassed and scattered and famishing sheep, who are at their wits’ end to know where to find a little green grass, or fresh water, which has not been trodden down with the feet of the goats, or defiled with the “vomit” of the dogs?
2. Parœmiœ which, though not quoted as such, were very probably already in use as proverbial expressions
“Like to a grain of mustard seed” (Mat 13:31-32; Mat 17:20. Luk 17:6). This was doubtless a proverbial saying among the Hebrews (not the Greeks), to indicate a very small thing: as we say, of rent, etc., “a peppercorn.” See Buxtorf Lex. Talmud, under the word
“As the sand of the sea,” or “as the sand.” This was used proverbially, in order to express a vast multitude that could not be numbered.
See Gen 22:17; Gen 32:12; Gen 41:49. Jos 11:4. Jdg 7:12. 1Sa 13:5. 2Sa 17:11. 1Ki 4:20; 1Ki 4:29 (1Ki 5:9). Job 29:18. Psa 78:27; Psa 139:18. Isa 10:22; Isa 48:19. Jer 15:8; Jer 33:22. Hos 1:10 (Hos 2:1). Hab 1:9. And in the New Testament- Rom 9:27. Heb 11:12; and Rev 20:8. See under Hyperbole.
“As the dust of the earth,” or “dust,” is used proverbially, by Metonymy (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ), for an innumerable multitude.
See Gen 13:16; Gen 28:14. Num 23:10.* [Note: Num 23:10. The A.V. renders this “Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number the fourth part of Israel.” The R.V. renders the second line, “Or number the fourth part of Israel”; and in the margin says, “Heb., Or, by number.” But Dr. Ginsburg points out in his Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (p. 168), that the word åÌîÄñÀôÈø (umispahr), rendered “and the number,” is obscure, because the first two letters åí were originally a separate word, being the abbreviation of the first word of the first line, viz.: åí for åÌîÄé, and who. Thus the two lines (dividing the word into two) are now seen to be a beautiful parallel:- “Who can count the dust of Jacob? And who can number the fourth part of Israel?”] 2Ch 1:9. Job 22:24; Job 27:16. Psa 78:27. Zep 1:17. Zec 9:3. See under Hyperbole.
“As the stars of heaven,” or “as the stars,” is used proverbially to indicate a vast number that could not be counted.
See Gen 15:5; Gen 22:17; Gen 26:4. Exo 32:13. Deu 1:10; Deu 10:22; Deu 28:62. 1Ch 27:23. Neh 9:23. Jer 33:22. Nah 3:16.
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle” (Mat 19:24. Mark 10:25. Luk 18:25). This was a proverbial expression for a thing very unusual and very difficult. Lightfoot (Horœ Hebraicae) quotes several examples: from the Talmud,* [Note: Baby1. Berachoth. fol. 55, 2.] where, concerning dreams, it says “They do not show a man a palm-tree of gold, nor an elephant going through the eye of a needle.” The gloss is, “A thing which he was not wont to see, nor concerning which he had ever thought.” Another example is given,† [Note: Baba Mezia, fol. 38, 2.] where Rabbi Sheshith answered R. Areram, disputing with him, and asserting something that was incongruous of him, and said, “Perhaps thou art one of these Pombeditha, who can make an elephant pass through the eye of a needle”: i.e., as the Aruch interprets it, “Who speak things that are impossible.”
“That strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel” (Mat 23:24). Not “straining at a gnat.” See Buxtorf in Lex. Talmud, under
“With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Mat 7:2). This was a very common proverb among the Jews, See Bab. Sanhedrim, fol. 100, 1, and the Tract Sotah cap. 1, quoted by Lightfoot.
“Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye,” etc. (Mat 7:4). Lightfoot quotes from the Baba Bathra, fol. 15, 2, a well known proverb: “It is written in the days when they judged the judges (i.e., in the generation which judged their judges), When any [judge] said to another ‘Cast out the mote out of thine eye,’ he answered, ‘Cast you out the beam out of your own eye,’ ” etc.
“There shall not an hair of your head perish,” etc. (Luk 21:18. Acts 27:34; and, in the Old Testament, 1Sa 14:45. 2Sa 14:11. 1Ki 1:52. Compare also Mat 10:30.
“Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased: and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted” (Mat 23:12. Luk 14:11). Many similar sayings might be quoted from the Talmud. See Erubim, cap. i. Indeed, it was very ancient. See Job 5:11; Job 22:29. Psa 18:27 (Psa 18:28); Psa 113:6 (Psa 113:7). Pro 29:23, and the song of Hannah (1Sa 2:6-8), and of Mary (Luk 1:52-53).
“Shake off the dust of your feet” (Mat 10:14. Mark 6:11. Luk 9:5. And Acts 13:51). The schools of the Scribes taught that the dust of heathen lands caused defilement.‡ [Note: Tosaph. ad Kelim, cap, 1. Bah. Sanhedr., fol. 12. 1. Bab. Shabb, fol. 15. 2. Gloss in Sanhedr., fol. 5. 2. Tosaph. in Sanhedr., cap. 1, article 30, quoted by Lightfoot.] The shaking off of the dust of the feet, therefore, was a sign that, though the place might be in the land of Israel, it was as though it were a heathen and profane and defiled place.
“It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord,” etc. (Mat 10:25. Luk 6:40. John 13:16).* [Note: See the Talmud. Berachoth, cap. 9 and Chusar, cap. 20. Also Aben Ezra on Hos 1:2.]
“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation,” etc. (Mat 12:25. Mark 3:24-25. Luk 11:17. (See Buxtorf. Lex. Talmud, under
“To remove mountains” (Mat 21:21. 1Co 13:2) was a Hebrew proverb, as may be seen in Buxtorf. Lex. Talmud, under
“Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Mat 7:12. Luk 6:31. (See Talmud, Bab. Sabbath, fol. 31.1, and Buxtorf. Lex. Talmud, under
“To unloose the shoe-latchet” (Mat 3:11. Mark 1:7. Luk 3:16) was a proverb connected with the buying of a servant: the loosening of the shoe being a token of purchase. See Ruth 4:7-8; and Bah. Kiddushin, fol. 22. 2, cap. 1.
“If they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?” (Luk 23:31), or better (comparing Mat 3:10 : “Now, also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees.”) “If to a green tree, these things they are doing; To the dry tree, what shall happen?”† [Note: Talmud Sanhedrim, quoted by Drusius.]
I.e., if they deal thus with Me, a green and flourishing Tree, what shall happen to the nation-a dry and sapless trunk, when the Romans shall presently lay their axe to it? (See Psa 1:1-6, and Jer 17:5-8).
“It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” (Acts 9:5; Acts 26:14. This was a proverb common among the Greeks as well as the Hebrews.
3. Parœmiœ which appear for the first time in Scripture; but, which, owing to their fulness of meaning and their wide application, have since passed into general use as proverbial sayings Gen 22:14.-“As it is said to this day, ‘In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.’ ”
Deu 25:4 is a Scripture which afterward became a proverb, because it is a brief sententious saying with many applications. “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn (marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] , Heb. thresheth). See 1Co 9:9 and 1Ti 5:18.
1Ki 8:46. 2Ch 6:36.-“For there is no man that sinneth not.” This became a proverb on account of its great truth, as may be seen from Pro 20:9. Ecc 7:20. Jas 3:2. 1Jn 1:8; 1Jn 1:10.
1Ki 20:11.-This also has come down to, and is used by posterity as a proverb, full of meaning, and with many applications:
“Let not him that girdeth on his harness Boast himself as he that putteth it off.”
Job 6:5.-“Doth the wild ass bray when he is at grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder?” (See A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] margin).
Job 14:19.-“The waters wear the stones.”
Job 28:18.-“The price of wisdom is above rubies.”
Psa 62:9.-“Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance they are altogether lighter than vanity.”
Psa 111:10.-“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” So Deu 4:6. Job 28:28. Pro 1:7; Pro 9:10. Ecc 12:13. Probably the first use is in Job 28:28, but it passed into a common proverb.
Pro 1:17.-“Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.”
Pro 1:32.-“The prosperity of fools shall destroy them.”
Pro 3:12.-“For whom the Lord loveth He correcteth: even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” Here we have a Simile as well. It is referred to in Heb 12:5-6. See also Job 5:17. Psa 94:12, and Rev 3:19.
Pro 6:6.-“Go to the ant, thou sluggard: consider her ways and be wise.” Compare Job 12:7.
Pro 6:27.-“Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?” This is doubtless a saying arising from common observation of daily life.
Pro 10:5.-“He that gathereth in summer is a wise son.”
Pro 10:13.-“A rod is for the back of him who is void of understanding.” So Pro 26:3.
Pro 10:19 : “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin.”
Pro 11:15.-“He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it.” Heb. shall be sore broken (so A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] margin). The common experience of this fact has made this a common proverb; but they are blessed indeed who learn and know from a happy experience that when Christ became Surety for His People, who were “strangers,” He smarted for it, and was “sore broken” that they might be for ever blessed.
Pro 22:6.-“Train up a child in the way he should go.”
Few proverbs have passed more into common use than this. Mr. C. H. Spurgeon once put it, “in the way you wish you had gone yourself.” See under Pleonasm and Metonymy.
Pro 26:11.-“As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.” This is also a simile, which passed into a proverb. See 2Pe 2:22, quoted and referred to above.
Pro 27:6.-“Faithful are the wounds of a friend.”
Pro 27:7 : “The full soul loatheth the honeycomb.”
Pro 27:17 : “As iron sharpeneth iron,” etc.
Pro 28:21.-“To have respect of persons is not good.”
See Synecdoche, and Pro 18:5; Pro 24:23.
Ecc 1:15.-“That which is crooked cannot be made straight.” Ecc 7:13. Job 12:14. Isa 14:27. This perhaps gave rise to another expressive Hebrew proverb: “You cannot straighten a pig’s tail.”
Ecc 1:18.-“For in much wisdom is much grief.” So Ecc 12:12.
Ecc 9:4.-“For a living dog is better than a dead lion.”
Ecc 10:1.-“Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour.”
See under Ellipsis.
Ecc 11:6.-“In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand.”
Jer 13:23.-“Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?”
Jer 23:28.-“What is the chaff (Heb., straw) to the wheat?”
Hab 2:6.-“Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, ‘Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! How long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay’ ” (see R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] ).
Mal 2:10.-“Have we not all one father?” The Jews used this proverb in their controversy with the Lord in John 8:33; John 8:39, etc.
Mat 5:13.-“If the salt have lost his savour (or taste) wherewith shall it be salted?”
Mat 5:14.-“A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.”
Mat 6:3.-“Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.”
Mat 6:21.-“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Greek, “there will your heart also be,” with emphasis on “heart.” (See Metonymy).
Mat 6:24.-“No man can serve two masters.” See Hermeneia.
Mat 6:34 : “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
Mat 7:16.-“Ye shall know them by their fruits.”
These words were first used by the Lord concerning false teachers. But to-day the saying has passed into general use, and is spoken (not so correctly) of every one.
Mat 9:12.-“They that be whole need not a physician.”
Mat 10:10.-“The workman is worthy of his meat.” So Luk 10:7. 1Co 9:7, etc.
Mat 10:22 : “He that endureth to the end shall be saved.” This Parœmia is further used Dan 12:12. Mat 24:13. Mark 13:13, etc. and refers to the faithful remnant of Jews enduring to the end of the coming “great tribulation.” The
Mat 12:34.-“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”
Mat 13:57.-“A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country and in his own house.”
Mat 15:14.-“If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.”
Mat 24:28.-“For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” The word “for” introduces the Parœmia, which is from Job 39:30. “Her young ones suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she.” Had this Parœmia been understood, and the title “Son of Man” noticed as referring to Christ’s title as exercising dominion in the Earth,* [Note: See The Divine Names and Titles, by the same author and publisher. One shilling.] these words would never have been interpreted of the church as the “Body” of Christ. Luk 17:37 clearly shows that it is a time of judgment (see Luk 17:24-37); and that the taking and the leaving refer to judgment, and not to the Rapture of 1Th 4:17; which was a subsequent revelation, and ought not to be read into the Gospels, which are perfectly clear without it.
Luk 17:37.-See Mat 24:28 above.
Acts 9:5.-“It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks”: i.e., the goads.
Acts 20:35.-“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” This is one of the un-recorded Parœmiœ or Logia of Christ. But it does not follow that a papyrus which professes, some centuries later, to give other Parœmiœ is genuine and authentic.
1Co 5:6.-“A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” Leaven is always used in a bad sense. Even in the case of one of the two wave-loaves, leaven was to be used because that loaf represented human nature; while the other loaf which represented Christ’s perfect nature had no leaven.
See other examples of such Proverbs in Pro 11:27; Pro 12:11; Pro 12:15; Pro 15:2; Pro 15:33; Pro 17:1; Pro 17:10; Pro 17:19; Pro 17:28; Pro 19:2; Pro 19:24; Pro 20:4; Pro 20:11; Pro 20:14; Pro 20:21; Pro 20:25; Pro 22:13; Pro 25:11; Pro 25:16; Pro 25:27; Pro 26:4-5 (see under Ellipsis), Pro 26:14; Pro 27:8, Pro 27:10, Pro 27:22; Pro 30:15, etc., etc. Ecc 4:5; Ecc 4:12; Ecc 5:2; Ecc 5:6; Ecc 5:8-10; Ecc 6:9; Ecc 9:18; Ecc 10:2; Ecc 10:8-9; Ecc 10:15; Ecc 10:19-20; Ecc 11:3-4; Ecc 11:7; Ecc 12:12. Mic 7:5-6. Mat 5:15; Mat 7:2; Mat 7:5; Mat 9:16; Mat 10:24; Mat 10:26; Mat 13:12. Luk 9:62; Luk 12:48; Luk 23:31. 1Co 10:12; 1Co 15:33. 2Co 9:6-7. 2Th 3:10. Tit 1:15 Non-Canonical, or, Supposed Scripture, Proverbs
There are many common sayings which are supposed to be in Scripture, even by those who should know better; and pass current among those who are ill-informed. For example- “God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb.” This is not in the Bible; but is taken from Laurence-Sterne’s Sentimental Journey. And he took it probably from the French of Henri Etienne, Dieu mesure le froid à la brebis tondue. And both may have been acquainted with Isa 27:8 : “He stayeth his rough wind in the day of his east wind.”
“Spare the rod and spoil the child.”
Many use this, thinking it is Scripture. Even Butler, in his Hudibras, says: “That may be heard ten times to one quotation of Solomon.” And yet Solomon said: “He that spareth the rod hateth his son” (Pro 13:24).
“A word to the wise is sufficient.” (Sometimes “for them” is added, whereas it is singular, not plural). This has been quoted as Scripture. But it is from the Latin of Terence* [Note: Phormio, Acts 3:1-26 sc. 3. 5:8. In Parry’s edition of Terence, he says in a note that the Proverb is found in Plautus Persa 4:7. 18.] ; who himself is misquoted; for he said: “Dictum sapienti sat est,” not Verbum sat sapienti.
It is said that the celebrated Robert Hall once planned a sermon on the words “In the midst of life we are in death,” But he abandoned it, we are told, when he found that it was not to be found in the Bible; but only in the Prayer-book.
It appears to have come from a monk of St. Gall, named Notker, in the tenth century, whose Latin hymn contained the line: “Media vita in morte sumus.”
Misquoted Proverbial Sayings
Even in quoting common sayings from Scripture and the Prayer Book, which have passed into Proverbs, there is an habitual misquotation which has become practically universal. It may not be out of place to give one or two examples by way of warning.
“Man is prone to sin as the sparks fly upward.” But Job 5:7 says: “Man is born unto trouble,” etc.
“A still small voice” is generally quoted as “the still small voice” (1Ki 19:12)
“A merciful man is merciful to his beast.” But Pro 12:10 has it: “A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast.”
“The truth as it is in Jesus” is almost invariably thus quoted. The Scripture says (Eph 4:21): “As the truth is in Jesus,” which is a very different thing. The former implies that there is truth apart from Him. But the latter implies that the truth is in Jesus, and nowhere else.
“A nation shall be born in a day.” No concordance will give this passage. Isa 66:8 asks: “Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once?”
“So plain that he who runs may read.” On the contrary. So plain was to be the written vision that he who reads it may run, and flee from the coming judgments (Hab 2:2).
“My time is in thy hand.” Thank God, He said “times” (Psa 31:15 (Psa 31:16)). Yes, “My times are always in thy hand.” All my times: my times of sorrow and of joy; of trouble and of danger. All are in the hand of my God.* [Note: Shakespeare is misquoted in the other direction. He said: “The time is out of joint,” not the times are out of joint. The next line would set people right, for he says:- “The time is out of joint;-O cursed spite! That I was born to set it right.”
(Hamlet, Act i. sc. 4, at the close). So Cowper: “The cups that cheer,” not cup. (See his Task, 4:39, 40).]
“Let him cast the first stone.” But John 8:7 says: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone.”
“How great a fire a little matter kindleth.” But in Jas 3:5 it is written: “Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth.” The Apostolic benediction (2Co 13:14) suffers from various changes: fellowship, instead of communion; or, in addition to it, as though they were two different things: rest upon and abide; be and abide: for ever; now, henceforth, and for ever; now and for ever. And these are supposed to improve the words of the Holy Spirit! That such attempted improvement of Scripture meets with no check is a sad sign of the low regard in which its accuracy is held.
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Type A figure or ensample of something future and more or less prophetic, called the “Antitype”
Type. Greek,
1.A print or mark (John 20:25).* [Note: The second occurrence in this verse is read τόπος, the place, by Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles (margin).] 2.Figure (Acts 7:43. Rom 5:14).
3. Form (Rom 6:17).
4. Fashion (Acts 7:44).
5. Manner (Acts 23:25).
6. Pattern (Tit 2:7. Heb 8:5).
7.Ensample (1Co 10:11. Php 3:17. 1Th 1:7).† [Note: According to the best texts, this is singular, as in R.V., not plural.] 2Th 3:9. 1Pe 5:3 8.Example (1Co 10:6. 1Ti 4:12). The Greeks used it of the symptoms of a disease. Galen wrote a medical work entitled
It will thus be seen that the special and technical sense which has been given to it by Theologians is not exactly equivalent to any of these usages: the nearest being Rom 5:14, where Adam is spoken of as a type of the Coming One. The theological use of the word agrees more with what in the New Testament is called
There is, therefore, not much profit in following out what have been called types by men. Many are merely illustrations; and it would be better so to call them; inasmuch as they did not and do not of themselves teach the truths, but only illustrate those truths which are elsewhere clearly revealed. We should never have called them types but for such subsequent revelation; and therefore they are only illustrations so far as their teaching agrees with clear revelation afterward made.
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Symbol A material Object substituted for a moral or spiritual Truth
Greek,
Speaking of Isa 7:14, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son,” he says, “since this refers to the house of David, Isaiah has explained how that which was spoken by God to David,
Thus it will be seen that symbol is practically synonymous with the latter use of mystery as meaning a secret sign. It is only two or three times so used in Scripture:-In Rev 1:20, the stars which John saw were a mystery: i.e., secret sign (or symbol); and in Rev 17:5; Rev 17:7, Babylon is said to be a mysteerion (or symbol): i.e., a secret sign of something spiritual and moral which it represented.
Eph 5:32 shows us that it was also synonymous with the Latin sacramentum, which is there used to represent the Greek mysteerion. So that the sacramentum of the Latin Vulgate meant simply a symbol.
Sacramentum is said to have reference to a military oath, but it must have been only because of some secret sign used in connection with the administration of the oath. From this it is clear that “the sacrament” so called is only a secret sign or symbol of spiritual truths and acts or events which it is used to commemorate.
Doubtless there are many symbols in the Scriptures, but great care and caution must be exercised in their interpretation. The different interpretations which have been given to the same so-called symbol, are sufficient to serve as a warning.
All Metonymies (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ) are, in a certain sense, symbols. When, for example, “cup” is used, by Metonymy, for blessing (Psa 16:5; Psa 116:13); or, “clay” for man (Isa 64:8 (Psa 64:7)); or, “gate” for entrance, etc., the one is practically a symbol of the other: and when by repeated and constant use the one gets to be more and more closely associated with the other, it is then used as a symbol of it and is substituted for it. The transition stage is Hypocatastasis (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ) or Implication. The stages by which a symbol is reached, therefore, are: (1) either by Metonymy or Metaphor, one thing is used to represent another; then (2) the one is used to imply the other; and finally (3) it becomes permanently substituted for it as a symbol of it.
Thus, with regard to “leaven,” we have first the thing itself causing fermentation, and therefore forbidden to be used in connection with any sacrifice or offering to the Lord. Then it is used by Metonymy for that which is corrupt (1Co 5:6-8). Then by Implication for corrupt or evil doctrine (Mat 16:6). And finally it is used as the permanent symbol of it (Mat 13:33). Indeed, “leaven” is always used in a bad sense, and of that which is corrupt. In the case of the two wave-loaves, where leaven was to be put into one and not into the other, the exception is significant, and proves the rule. For one represented Christ, and the other His People. In the same way, “key” is used as a symbol of power and authority, and especially the power of opening and closing (Rev 1:18; Rev 3:7. Isa 22:22). In Mat 16:19, the power and authority of opening the doors of the kingdom were committed to Peter, and he exercised that commission in making the final offer of the Messiah to the nation of Israel (Acts 2:1-47; Acts 3:1-26; Acts 4:1-37; Acts 5:1-42; Acts 6:1-15; Acts 7:1-60; Acts 8:1-40 and Acts 10:1-48.). Observe, that they were the keys of the Kingdom, not of the church; and that he was altogether incompetent and unable to transfer that power and authority to others.
It is scarcely necessary for us to attempt to say more with regard to symbols. The subject would form a work by itself; and, indeed, many works have been written upon it. We can only repeat our caution as to their use.
-------- Ænigma; or, Dark Saying A. Truth expressed in obscure Language
E-nig´-ma. Greek,
Enigma thus differs from Parable, in that the latter is generally explained. When a Parable is without any explanation, it may be called an Enigma, i.e., a dark or obscure saying.
See Psa 78:2 quoted in Mat 13:35. The “dark saying” of the Old Testament is
It is rendered dark saying three times (Psa 49:4 (Psa 49:5); Psa 78:2. Pro 1:6); dark sentence, once (Dan 8:23); dark speech, once (Num 12:8); hard question, twice (1Ki 10:1. 2Ch 9:1); proverb, once (Hab 2:6); riddle, nine times (Jdg 14:12-19. Eze 17:2). When the saying is very obscure indeed, it is called
HYPÆNIGMA, i.e., the same word, with the preposition
Also HYPÆNIXIS, from
There are sayings dark and deep in the Scriptures beside those that are actually so designated.
Gen 49:10 is in the form of Enigma. “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” See under Metonymy.
Jdg 14:14.-Samson’s Enigma is well known.
“Out of the eater came forth meat, And out of the strong came forth sweetness.” The answer is given in verse 18, in the form of another question (See Anteisagoge):
“What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?” This is a saying both “dark” and “deep”: for there is precious truth hidden in that darkness and those depths, which neither the Philistines nor the natural man can understand or receive. The Living Word (Christ) is stronger than the strong man armed (Mat 12:29. Mark 3:27. Luk 12:21-22). For the Lion means in Hebrew the strong one. The Written Word (the Scriptures of truth) are sweeter than honey (Psa 119:103; Psa 19:10 (Psa 19:11). Jer 15:16).
All who know this blessed deliverance which the great Deliverer brings, cry out in the words of Psa 35:10, “Lord, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and needy from him that spoileth him?” (See Erotesis and Prosopopœia). The Law was a strong Lion (Gal 3:10): but the honey is found in Gal 3:13.
Sin is a strong Lion (Rom 5:21): but the honey is found in Rom 6:6; Rom 7:18-25. And 1Co 15:56-57. The World is a strong Lion (Luk 8:14. Gal 5:21): but the honey is found in John 16:33.
Affliction is a strong Lion (Job 5:6-7; Job 14:1-2. Acts 14:22): but the honey is found in Psa 119:67; Psa 119:71; Psa 34:19 (20). Rom 8:35-39. Heb 12:11.
Death is a strong Lion (Rom 5:12. Heb 9:27): but the honey is found in 2Ti 1:10. Hos 13:14, and 1Co 15:54-55. The answer to these Enigmas is found in Psa 73:16-17, “When I thought to know this it was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God. Then understood I.”
Isa 11:1 is a dark saying, and has to be interpreted by what follows.
Isa 21:11-12, is another dark saying.
Eze 17:2-10 gives a prophecy concerning the King of Babylon’s coming to Jerusalem, and leading it into captivity, under the Enigma of two Eagles.
Dan 5:25-28.-The handwriting on the wall is given in the form of an Enigma, in which the immediate fall of Babylon was announced.
Three words were written, the first twice (by Epizeuxis, q.v. [Note: Which see.] ), for emphasis.
T’kel. | WEIGHED. | |
P’res. | DIVIDED. |
These three words are interpreted by Daniel in Dan 5:26-28, and the fulfilment of them follows in Dan 5:30-31. See under Paronomasia.
-------- Polyonymia; or, Many Names An Application of Ænigma to the Names of Persons or Places
Pol´-y-ō-nym´-i-a. Greek,
It is not uncommon for persons or places to be known by different names. In Mat 15:39, for example, there is no Enigma, but merely a case of two names for the same place: “The coasts of Magdala.” In Mark 8:10, it is called “The parts of Dalmanutha,” Dalmanutha being the name of the region and Magdala of the city. The former was general, the latter was special. In Mat 8:28, the people are called Gergesenes; and in Luk 8:26, and Mark 5:1, Gadarenes. Some suppose that these were either different names of the same place, or two places forming one larger place. It is a question also as to whether precisely the same event is described in these places, or whether two similar events took place at two different times. So with the names of Esau’s wives, which have formed a great subject for the attention of infidels.
It is clear from a comparison of Gen 26:34; Gen 28:9, that Esau’s wives were three in number:
1. “The daughter of Elon the Hittite”; called Adah (Gen 36:2); but she also had another name, Bashemath (Gen 26:34).
2. “The daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite”; called Aholibamah (Gen 36:2); but not the Aholibamah of Gen 36:25, who was her aunt (compare Gen 36:2 and Gen 36:25). She was called also Judith, and in Gen 26:34 this Judith is said to be the daughter of Beeri the Hittite. But there is no contradiction in this, for Anah appears to have been called Beeri, or the Spring-man, because he discovered the “hot-springs” (see Gen 36:24)* [Note: So the R.V.,
It is true that in Gen 36:2, Anah, alias Beeri, is called “the Hivite,” while in Gen 26:34, he is called “the Hittite.” The latter is history, and is therefore general; the former is genealogy, and is therefore more precise. “Hittite” is the general term; “Hivite” is the special and more particular term (compare Jos 1:4. 1Ki 10:29. 2Ki 7:6; and Gen 28:8, when Esau’s Hittite wives are spoken of as “daughters of Canaan”).
3. The third wife was “the daughter of Ishmael,” and was called Bashemath (Gen 36:2), and Mahalath (Gen 28:8). When three persons are so carefully and minutely described, it is preposterous for anyone to create a difficulty about the similar names, when down to our own day precisely the same phenomenon constantly occurs. But this feature of Polyonymia is not what we are describing and discussing here. There is no Enigma in these common aliases.
It is only when another name is given, because of some special meaning, “dark” or “deep” in it, that it becomes a Figure, being used in a figurative sense, having some important signification beyond what appears upon the surface.
Gen 10:10; Gen 11:2.-“The Land of Shinar” is another name for Babel or Babylon. Babylon must be intended by “the land of Shinar.” in the prophecy of the “Ephah” (Zec 5:11). Had the name Babylon been used here it might have been urged that it was put by Enigma for some other place; but, when “the land of Shinar” is used for Babylon it can hardly be that, after this, Babylon can be used for some other name by a double use of the figure.
Deu 1:2; Deu 1:44; Deu 2:8, etc.-Edom is called Seir, and this was afterwards known in the Jerusalem Targum as
We have the name in Psa 83:6 (7). “Gebal, and Ammon, and Amelek”: i.e., Edom, Ammon, and Amelek-three of Israel’s greatest enemies at critical moments in the history of the Nation.
2Ki 23:13.-The Mount of Olives is called “the mount of corruption,” because of the idolatries connected with it.
Psa 87:4; Psa 89:10 (11). Isa 51:9.-Egypt is called Rahab on account of its pride (
Isa 14:4.-The Antichrist is called “the King of Babylon,” because he is the end and final outcome of Babel.
Isa 29:1.-Jerusalem is called Ariel, which means the Lion of God. It is so called to denote its greatness, glory, and strength (cf. [Note: f. Compare (for Latin, confer).] 2Sa 23:20. 1Ch 11:22), and is thus put in contrast with the woe here pronounced against it. (See under Ellipsis, page 5).
Jer 25:26.-“And the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.” Here Sheshach is put for Babylon. The subject is the cup of the fury of the God of Israel (Jer 25:15). Four classes of nations were to drink of it, and all at one time. (1) Jerusalem and the cities of Judah (Jer 25:18). (2) Egypt, etc. (Jer 25:19). (3) The mingled nations (Jer 25:20-22), and (4) the nations further off (Jer 25:23-25), and, finally, “the king of Sheshach.” In Jeremiah “the times of the Gentiles” are not within the scope of his prophecy. Nor in Ezekiel. Daniel, on the other hand, fills in these present times, and makes but little reference to what goes before or comes after, as in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The point is that the judgment of these nations takes place all at the same time with that of “the king of Sheshach,” and that time is veiled in the Enigma contained in this peculiar name. Babylon is meant; and, according to the ancient Kabbalah, the last letter of the alphabet was put for the first, and the penultimate for the second, and the antepenultimate for the third, and so on. By which Enigma the word “Sheshach” (
Eze 23:4.-Jerusalem is called “Aholibah”: i.e., my tabernacle is in her. While Samaria (Israel) is called Aholah: i.e., his (own) tabernacle. There is a depth of meaning, therefore, in each name.
Hos 4:15; Hos 10:5.-Bethel (the house of God, Gen 28:19; Gen 28:22) was made, by Jeroboam, a house of his idol (1Ki 12:29). Hence, God gives it another name, and calls it Beth-Aven: i.e., the house of vanity.
-------- Gnome; or, Quotation
Gnō´-mee. Greek,
Hence, the term Gnome is given to the citation of brief, sententious, profitable sayings expressive of a universal maxim or sentiment which appertains to human affairs, cited as well-known, or as being of general acceptance, but without quoting the author’s name. In Pro 1:2, they are called “words of understanding.” The Scriptures, as Bengel remarks, are so “full of the best things, that these constitute, as it were, certain continued sentiments openly set forth in the form of gnomes.” When these are applied to a certain person, time, or place; or to individual cases; or are clothed with circumstantial particulars, the figure is called NOEMA,
These are exactly what are referred to in Ecc 12:11.
“The words of the wise Are as goads; And as tent-pegs well fixed are [The words] of the masters of assemblies.* [Note: See under Ellipsis, page 74.] A Gnome, however, differs from a Proverb in this: that every Proverb is a Gnome, but every Gnome is not necessarily a Proverb. A Gnome is, properly speaking, a quotation: and therefore this figure opens up the whole question of the Quotations from the Old Testament in the New. This is a large subject, many volumes having been written upon it, both in ancient and in recent times.
It is also a difficult subject, owing to certain phenomena which lie upon its surface.
It is a fact that there are variations between the quotations and the Text quoted from.
Sometimes they agree with the Septuagint translation, and differ from the Hebrew, and vice versa; and sometimes they differ from both.
Sometimes they are direct quotations; at other times they are composite quotations of several passages joined in one; while others are mere allusions.
Consequently it is difficult for anyone to make a list or table of such quotations which shall agree with those made by others. The general fact seems to be that there are 189 separate passages quoted* [Note: If it is merely a reference or allusion, as distinct from a quotation, then there are many more, of course. The Lord Jesus Himself referred to 22 out of our 39 Old Testament books. In Matthew there are references to 88 passages in 10 Old Testament books. In Mark to 37 passages in 10 books. In Luke to 58 passages in 8 books. In John to 40 passages in 6 books.
Deuteronomy and Isaiah, the two books most assailed by the Higher Critics, are referred to more often than any other Old Testament books. While Revelation contains no less than 244 references to 25 Old Testament books. In Romans there are 74 references. Corinthians, 54. Galatians, 16. Ephesians, 10. Hebrews, 85. In all, out of 260 chapters in the New Testament, there are 832 quotations, or references, or allusions to the Old Testament Scriptures.
Every Old Testament book is referred to with the exception of Ezra, Neh. Est., and Canticles. The Apocryphal books are not referred to at all.] in the New Testament, according to Spearman’s reckoning:† [Note: Letters to a friend. Edinburgh, 1759.] i.e., counting a passage only once, though it may be quoted several times. Including the whole, there are, according to Bishop Wetenhall’s method, 244: of which 147 agree with the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] , and 97 differ from it.
Reckoning according to Spearman, we find, out of the 189 passages quoted, 105 that agree with the Septuagint, 21 that differ from it, 45 that differ from both it and the Hebrew, and 18 neutral.
These may be exhibited in the following table:-
No. of Quotations in | Acc. [Note: cc. The Accusative Case.] to LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] | Differ from LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] | Differ from both. | ||
Matt. | 38 | 25 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
Mark | 3 | 1 | - | 2 | - |
Luke | 5 | - | - | 3 | 2 |
John | 11 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
Acts | 19 | 11 | 1 | 7 | - |
Rom. | 51 | 30 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
1 Cor. | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | - |
2 Cor. | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Gal. | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | - |
Eph. | 2 | - | 1 | 1 | - |
Hebrews | 22 | 15 | 3 | 4 | - |
1 Peter | 7 | 6 | - | - | 1 |
Jude | 1 | 1 | - | - | - |
Rev. | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - |
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
189 | 105 | 21 | 44 | 19 |
It will thus be seen that by far the larger number of quotations correspond with the Septuagint translation.
Now, all the difficulties have been caused by thinking and speaking only of the instrument or the agent employed: instead of having regard to the great and important fact that the Bible has only One Author, and that “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2Pe 1:21). Our studies will certainly be incomplete if we do not observe the manner in which the Holy Spirit quotes in the New Testament those Scriptures which He had before inspired in the Old. Notice, then, the following examples:-
Mark 12:36.-“David himself said by the Holy Ghost.” This was the introduction to a quotation from Psa 110:1.
Mat 15:4.-Referring to Exo 20:12, our Lord says, “God commanded, saying,” etc.
Heb 3:7.-Referring to Psa 95:7-11. “Wherefore as the Holy Ghost saith,” not “as David saith,” or “as the Psalmist saith.”
Heb 9:8.-Referring to Exo 25:1-40; Exo 26:1-37; Exo 27:1-21; Exo 28:1-43; Exo 29:1-46; Exo 30:1-38; Exo 31:1-18; Exo 32:1-35; Exo 33:1-23; Exo 34:1-35; Exo 35:1-35; Exo 36:1-38; Exo 37:1-29; Exo 38:1-31; Exo 39:1-43; Exo 40:1-38. (concerning the Tabernacle and its teaching), “The Holy Ghost this signifying,” etc.
Heb 10:15.-Quoting Jer 31:33-34, “Whereof the Holy Ghost is a witness to us.”
Acts 1:16.-Peter, quoting Psa 41:9 (Psa 41:10), says, “This Scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost, by the mouth of David, spake before concerning Judas.” Observe, that while David spake, the words were not his, but “the words of the Holy Ghost.”
Acts 3:18.-Peter, referring to the Old Testament prophecies of Christ, says, “Those things, which God before had showed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.”
Acts 28:25.-Paul, quoting Isa 6:9, exclaims, “Well spake the Holy Ghost by Isaiah the prophet unto our fathers.
Old Testament passages are introduced in various ways:
1.
2.
3.
Thus, 14 passages are ascribed to the agency of Moses; 8 to that of David; 13 of Isa 2:1-22 of Hos 2:1-23 of Jer 1:1-19 of Dan 1:1-21 of Joe 1:1-20 of Elijah.
These facts are deeply instructive; because, for example, while the modern critics divide the book of Isaiah into two authorships, the New Testament ascribes six out of the thirteen passages to Isaiah in the first part of the prophecy (chaps. 1-39.), and seven out of the last part (chaps. 40-46). The recognition of this one simple fact demolishes completely the hypothesis of the Higher Critics, and will cause us to prefer the statements of God to the imagination of men. In making a quotation from the Old Testament in the New, surely the Holy Spirit is at liberty to do what any and every human writer may do, and frequently does, in his own works. Human writers and speakers constantly repeat, refer to, and quote what they have previously written and spoken, introducing the words in new senses, in different connections, with varied references, and in fresh applications. This is the case with the quotations in the Bible, and this one consideration explains all the so-called difficulties connected with the subject. Our work, then, in considering these differences, becomes totally different in character from that which treats them merely as discrepancies, arising from human infirmity or ignorance. These differences become all important, because they convey to us Divine comments, and reveal to us new truths. In quoting, or using again, words and expressions which the Holy Spirit has before used, we may note the following interesting ways in which He varies the sense or the words in order to convey to us new truths and lessons by the new application. In referring to these by way of illustration we have not classified them according to these definitions and divisions, as the student can determine each case for himself. But we have followed the arrangement of Glassius in his chapter on Gnomes.* [Note: Which Keach translates almost verbatim, without any acknowledgment.]
I. As to their INTERNAL form (i.e., the sense as distinct from the words).
1. Where the sense originally intended is preserved.
2. Where the sense is modified.
3. Where the sense is accommodated (accommodatio)
II. As to their EXTERNAL form (i.e., the words as distinct from the sense).
1. Where the words quoted are the same as the Hebrew or the Septuagint.
2. Where the words are varied as to omission, position, oraddition.
3.Where words are changed: a.by a reading: b.by an inference: c.in number: d.in person: e.in mood or tense.
4. Where several citations are amalgamated (composite quotations).
5. Where the quotations are made from books other than the Bible.
We will now consider these forms of Quotation in order:- I. As to their Internal form, i.e., the sense as distinct from the words In the consideration of Quotations, care must be taken to note what is said to be “spoken,” and what is said to be “written.” Some prophecies were written and never spoken; some were spoken by the Prophet and afterwards written down in his “prophecies”; others were “spoken” and never written down at all, and when, therefore, a passage is quoted as having been “spoken,” we may or may not find it written down in the Old Testament Scriptures. But when it is said to have been “written,” then we shall find it surely written down in the Scriptures of truth.
Surely there is all the difference in the world between
There is a further consideration which will help us when the quotations are prophecies. Prophecy is the utterance of the Lord-Jehovah: He Who was and is and is to come. His words, therefore, may often have a past, present and future reference.
Prophecy frequently has all three: (1) the reference to the events at the time of its utterance; (2) a subsequent reference to some great crisis; and (3) a final consummation, which shall fulfil and exhaust it. When a prophecy is said, therefore, to be “fulfilled,” that exhausts it. In other cases, where that final fulfilment is still future, the quotation is general-“as it is written,” or some such indefinite reference. The mistake made by most students of prophecy consists in this: that they do not bear in mind this threefold aspect of prophecy; but take one part, and put it for the whole. For example, with regard to the prophecy in Dan 11:1-45 There was a reference to Antiochus Epiphanes, now past; but this neither fulfilled nor exhausted the prophecy; which waits for the yet future revelation of one who shall fill it full: while there may be a historical reference to the course of events between. Each is true as part of the general fulfilment; but neither contains the whole truth embodied in the fulness of the prophetic record. An example of this may be seen in the very first recorded fulfilment of prophecy in the New Testament (Mat 1:23 below). We there see how the same Holy Spirit who first inspired that prophecy afterwards Himself interprets and applies it.
\ 1. Where the sense originally intended by the Holy Spirit is preserved, though the words may vary
Mat 1:23.-“Behold a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel.” This prophecy was “spoken” by Isaiah to Ahaz (Isa 7:13-14), and afterwards written down. It was first spoken with special reference to Ahaz and the circumstances then existing; but was afterwards fulfilled and quoted with reference to the event which the prophet, who was merely “the mouth,” did not understand, but which the Lord really intended. The words differ from both the Heb. and the LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] , but the sense is the same.
It never had or could have a proper fulfilment, except in Christ, for no virgin ever conceived and bore a child. In the days of Isaiah a certain woman, who was a virgin at the time when the prophecy was uttered, afterwards brought forth a son, whom they were told to name “Emmanuel”; and, before that child was old enough to know how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the deliverance promised to King Ahaz was wrought for him. But this prophecy did not have its complete and proper fulfilment in the days of Ahaz, because a real virgin did not conceive and bring forth a real Emmanuel. This is not a prophecy, therefore, where the original sense is modified; for this was the sense in which it was originally intended, although there was a preliminary and partial fulfilment at the time.* [Note: See Number in Scripture (page 63) by the same author and publisher.]
Mat 2:6.-Quoted from Mic 5:2 (1). The words differ from the Heb. and LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] , but the sense originally intended is preserved.
Mat 11:10.-(Mark 1:2, etc.). Quoted from Mal 3:1. Here the words differ from the Heb. and the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] , though the original sense intended is preserved.
Mat 12:17, etc.-Quoted from Isa 42:1-4. The words differ from the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] , but the original sense is preserved.
Mat 13:14-15.-(Mark 4:12. Luk 8:10. John 12:40. Acts 28:26-27). Quoted from Isa 6:9-10, agreeing with the LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).]
Mat 21:5.-(John 12:14-15). Quoted from Isa 62:11 and Zec 9:9, agreeing with LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).]
Mat 21:16.-“Have ye never read, Psa 8:2 (3), ‘Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected (or prepared) praise,’ ” which agrees with the LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).]
Mat 21:42.-(Mark 12:10. Acts 4:11. 1Pe 2:7). Quoted from Psa 118:22-23 (LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] ).
Mat 22:44.-(Mark 12:36. Luk 20:42-43. Acts 2:34-35. 1Co 15:25. Heb 1:13). Quoted from Psa 110:1 (LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] ).
Mat 26:31.-Quoted from Zec 13:7. Though the words differ both from the Heb. and the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] , the sense originally intended is preserved.
Mat 27:35.-(John 19:24). Quoted from Psa 22:18 (19) (LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] ).
Luk 4:18; Luk 4:21.-Quoted from Isa 61:1-2. The words differ both from the Heb. and LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] , though the original intention is preserved.
John 19:37.-Quoted from Zec 12:10. The words differ from the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] , but the sense is the same.
Acts 3:22-23.-Quoted from Deu 18:15-19 (LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] ).
Acts 13:33.-Quoted from Psa 2:7 (LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] ).
Acts 15:16-17.-Quoted from Amo 9:11-12. The words differ from the Heb. and LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] , though the sense is preserved.
Rom 14:11.-Quoted from Isa 45:23. The words differ both from the Heb. and the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] , but the original sense is preserved.
Rom 15:3.-Quoted from Psa 69:9 (Psa 69:10) (LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] ).
Rom 15:12.-Quoted from Isa 11:1; Isa 11:10 (LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] ).
Eph 4:8.-Quoted from Psa 68:18 (Psa 68:19). Here the original sense is preserved, though the words differ both from the Heb. and the LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] Heb 1:8-9.-Quoted from Psa 45:6-7 (Psa 45:7-8), etc. (LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] ).
Heb 1:10-13.-Quoted from Psa 102:25 (Psa 102:26), etc. (LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] ).
Heb 5:6; Heb 7:17.-Quoted from Psa 110:4.
Heb 10:5-6.-Quoted from Psa 40:6-9 (LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] ). Here the words differ from the Hebrew (see below page 793), though the original intention and scope of the words is preserved.
1Pe 2:6.-Quoted from Isa 28:16 (LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] ).
2. Where the original sense is modified in the quotation or reference Mat 12:40.-Where, in the reference to Jon 1:17 (Jon 2:1), the words are used with a new and different application.
John 3:14-15, where the words respecting the brazen serpent, though not directly quoted, are modified in their new application.
John 19:36.-“A bone of him shall not be broken.” Quoted from Exo 12:46, where we have the words, “Neither shall ye break a bone thereof.” That “another Scripture saith” this, is perfectly true, but not in the same sense. It was said of the passover lamb, and it is here modified and applied to Christ. (See 1Co 5:7).
Eph 5:31-32.-Where, in the reference to Gen 2:23-24, the words are used with a new application.
3. Where the sense is accommodated, being quite different from that which was first intended, and the sense is accommodated by analogy to quite a different event or circumstance Hence this particular form of the figure is called ACCOMMODATIO.
Mat 2:15.-“Out of Egypt have I called my son,” which agrees with the Hebrew of Hos 11:1, and not with the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] , which has “have I sent for his (i.e., Israel’s) children.”
Mat 2:17-18.-From Jer 31:15 : but differs both from the Heb. and the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] (38:15). The sense of each is given, but is accommodated to the new circumstances.
Mat 8:17.-Quoted from Isa 53:4, but differing from the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] , and exactly answering to the Hebrew. The sense is accommodated; for, whereas the Spirit in Isaiah uses the words of Christ bearing our spiritual infirmities and sins in His passion and death (as shown in 1Pe 2:24-25), the same Spirit uses them in Matthew, and accommodates them to other circumstances, viz., to Christ’s healing people of their bodily sicknesses (Mat 8:16). But this only shows the wonderful fulness of the Divine words.
Mat 13:35.-Quoted from Psa 78:2 : but the sense in which Christ used them was different from that in the Psalm, where they are used of the past history of Israel: here they are accommodated by Christ, the Speaker, to the present circumstances. The words are said to be “fulfilled,” because, though the agent or speaker knew not of this ultimate use of the words, the Holy Spirit, Who spake by him, foreknew it. The words are said to be “spoken by the prophet,” and so they were (see Psa 78:1-2), though they were afterwards written down. The actual words differ both from the Heb. and the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] , as well as from the sense which is accommodated to them.
Christ was making known concerning that Kingdom certain things which would happen on its rejection. These things were not the subject of Old Testament prophecy, but had been “kept secret,” and are therefore called “the mysteries of (or secrets concerning) the kingdom.”
Mat 15:8-9.-Quoted from Isa 29:13, according to the Septuagint, but accommodated to different circumstances from those to which the words referred when first spoken.
Mat 27:9-10.-“Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.” In the margin the reference given is Zec 11:12-13 : but the words differ so widely both from the Heb. and the Septuagint that it is more than doubtful whether this can be the passage which is said to be fulfilled. As no such passage is found in Jeremiah, the difficulty is supposed to be very great. As an example of misapplied ingenuity, we give the various attempts which have been made by way of evading the difficulty:
1. It was a mistake of Matthew’s memory. This was Augustine’s opinion, followed by Alford, who says: “The citation is not from Jeremiah, and is probably quoted from memory and unprecisely.”
2. The reading, “Jeremiah” is spurious. (Rupert von Deutz and others).
3. It occurs in a work of Jeremiah’s which has been lost. (Origen and others).
4. It was in Jeremiah, but the Jews have expunged it. (Eusebius).
5. That, Because Jeremiah, in the Talmud, and some MSS., commences the “latter” prophets, his name is put for the whole body of their writings which would include Jeremiah. (Lightfoot, Adam Clark, Scrivener, and others).
6. Wordsworth boldly asserts that the mistake was purposely made; the name Jeremiah being substituted for Zechariah in order to teach us not to depend on the prophets who were merely channels and not the sources of Divine Truth.
Concerning this Alford says: “I put it to any faithful Christian to say, whether of the two presents the greater obstacle to his faith, the solution given above (see No. 1 above), or that given in Wordsworth’s note.”
7. Others again think Matthew’s mistake arose from the Jewish tradition “Zechariam habuisse spiritum Jeremiœ” (“Zechariah had the spirit of Jeremiah”).
Need we say, with regard to these seven, that 1. Is improbable: inasmuch as he quotes Zechariah elsewhere (Mat 21:5, Mat 26:31).
2. Is devoid of MS. authority, which is essential in a case of this kind. Origen and Eusebius suspect it, but only conjecturally.
3. This, too, is only a conjecture.
4. So with this.
5. This has more weight, but is unlikely and unsatisfactory: so evidently a make-shift.
6. We admire Wordsworth’s faith in the accuracy of the Bible more than Alford’s free handling of the Word: but it is, after all, a wild conjecture.
7. The same is the case with this.
Now these are just the sort of explanations which do more harm than all the assaults of the enemies of the Bible. But they serve to prove the truth of inspiration, in that the Bible still stands in spite of all the defences of its friends!
If it be a quotation from Zechariah, it can be so only by accommodation, or by composition (see below page 797, “composite quotations”), in which case it combines four different quotations:-
(a) “They took the thirty pieces of silver,” which is derived from the narrative, with special reference to Zechariah;
(b) “The price of him that was valued,” also after Zechariah.
(c) “Whom they bought of the children of Israel” (A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] ) as Joseph was bought and sold. After Gen 37:1-36 :
(d) “And gave them for the potter’s field,” the narrative of the text, with a special reference to Zechariah.
(e) “As the Lord appointed me,” which is from Jer 32:6; Jer 32:8, and connects the transaction in Matthew with that in Jer 32:1-44 A field was bought in each case; and the latter, like the former, has special reference to the future. Thus they treasured up a witness against their own perfidy, while Jeremiah witnessed to the Lord’s faithfulness. But in reality, all these so-called explanations are utterly beside the point, and are not only unnecessary, but absolutely worthless. The mention of them here would be a waste of paper and printer’s ink, except that they testify to the fact that, like most other difficulties, this one is first invented and put into the text, and then it is wrestled with, and the text wrested.
There is not a word about the prophecy being written in Jeremiah at all. It says
Some prophecies were written and never (so far as we know) spoken at all; others were both spoken and written; while some were spoken and never written.
It says: “That which was SPOKEN by Jeremiah the prophet.” Surely it is neither suspicion nor conjecture, nor “unprecise” to maintain that it was thus “spoken.” Who can prove that it was not “spoken by Jeremiah?”
True, Zechariah may have written down similar words, though not referring to the same circumstances; but it ought never to have occurred to anyone to say that Mat 27:9-10 was quoted from what is written by Zechariah, when it positively states that it was “spoken by Jeremiah.”
Acts 13:40-41.-Quoted from Hab 1:5, according to the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] , but accommodated to another set of circumstances, and to the Romans rather than to the Chaldeans.
Rom 9:27-28.-Quoted from Isa 10:22-23, nearly according to the LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] Rom 9:29.-Quoted Isa 1:9, according to the LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).]
Rom 10:6-8.-Where what the Scripture (or, rather, “the righteousness which is of faith) “saith” (Deu 30:12-14) is accommodated to different circumstances- Rom 10:6 and Rom 10:8 agreeing with the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] , and Rom 10:7 differing from it.
1Co 1:19-20.-Quoted from Isa 29:14; Isa 33:18, and differing from the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] , as well as accommodated to other circumstances.
1Co 10:6; 1Co 10:11.-“These things happened unto them for ensamples.” Where the events cited are used and accommodated to our sins and infirmities.
Rev 1:7.-An allusion to Zec 12:10.
Rev 1:17.-An allusion to Isa 41:4; Isa 44:6, but differing from the LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).]
Rev 11:4.-Quoted from Zec 4:14, differing both from the Heb. and the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] , and accommodated to different circumstances.
II. As to their External form (i.e., the words, as distinct from the sense) 1. Where the words are from the Hebrew, or from the Septuagint
Mat 2:15, from Hos 11:1; Mat 2:6, from Mic 5:2 (1); Mat 12:18-21, from Isa 42:1-4. These and other passages are from the Hebrew and not from the LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).]
Luk 4:18 quoted from the LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] of Isa 61:1-2. We have already instanced this as a citation in which the original sense is preserved. But we repeat it here because the words are varied.
“The Spirit of the Lord (Heb., Adonai Jehovah) is upon me because he (Heb., Jehovah) hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind.” Thus far we have the words of the LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] The last sentence “the recovering of sight to the blind,” not being in the Hebrew Text* [Note: See Ginsburg’s Hebrew Bible, which gives two readings.] ; while the last sentence in the Hebrew is not in the LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] But the two words in the Hebrew contain both senses.
2. Where the words are varied by omission, addition, or transposition
Mat 4:10 and Luk 4:8.-“Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,” from Deu 6:13; Deu 10:20; and then the Lord added His own Divine conclusion from this: “And Him only shalt thou serve.” The Heb. and the LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] have “fear”: but the fear of God includes the worship of God; and as worship was the matter in question (see Mat 4:9), the
Mat 4:15-16, from Isa 9:1-2 (Mat 8:23; Mat 9:1). Here, the quotation differs both from the Hebrew and from the LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] But this is partly an accommodation; because in Isaiah (LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] ) it is prophecy, while in the Gospel it is fulfilment that is in question.
Mat 5:31, from Deu 24:1 : but here it is not given as an exact quotation. It introduces the words by the simple formula: “It hath been said,” implying that those who thus said, put their own meaning on what the Law said.
Mat 12:18-21, from Isa 42:1-4. Here, the Gospel differs from the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] , scarcely a word being the same till we come to the last clause. It differs, too, from the Hebrew in the last clause, because it records the act of “fulfilment,” and not merely the words of the prophecy. The words, therefore take the form of a Divine comment or re-statement.
Mat 19:5.-“And they twain” (
Mat 22:24.-From Deu 25:5-6. But here it is the Sadducees, who do not quote, but merely give the substance of the matter under the loose formula “Moses said.”
Rom 11:3-4.-From 1Ki 19:10; 1Ki 19:14; 1Ki 19:18. Here neither the Heb. nor the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] is followed, but the facts are recorded; while the destruction of the altars and the killing of the prophets are transposed.
1Co 2:9.-From Isa 64:4 (3). It is clear from this that the formula, “As it is written,” refers to the sense rather than to the words; and that the Divine Author, in repeating the words, sometimes varied them, as He does here; first, by transposing the hearing and the seeing; and then, by adding “neither have entered into the heart of man,” thus varying both from the Heb. and the LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).]
Moreover, He employs the general sentiment in a particular case. For what is said in the abstract, and universally, in Isaiah, is here put in contrast to some particular things which are revealed. See 1Co 2:10.
1Co 14:21.-From Isa 28:11-12. Here the quotation differs both from the Heb. and the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] : and is accommodated to the new circumstances by the omission of the middle passage, which was not relevant.
1Pe 1:24-25.-From Isa 40:6-8. Here the words are not introduced by any formula as a quotation. Isa 40:1-31 is referred to; and certain words are used again by the same Author: and, therefore, some are omitted; as not being relevant, or necessary for the purpose in hand.
3. Where the words are changed by a reading, or an inference; or in number, person, mood, or tense
We all constantly thus quote the Scriptures: and, in adapting them by application to some special circumstance, we depart from the original interpretation as to the special circumstances connected with them, and do not hesitate to change a tense, or number, or person, etc.
It is no less authoritative, as Scripture, nor does it alter the word of God.
(a) By a different reading Heb 10:5 (7).-“A body hast thou prepared me.”
These words are like the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] of Psa 40:6 (39:6), and differ from the Hebrew, which is, “Mine ears hast thou opened.” But this is not given as a quotation. It does not say, “as it is written”; but it gives the words which “he saith,” “when he cometh into the world.” What he then said in the accomplishment of a prophecy must certainly differ from the form in which the event was foretold and written centuries before.
What we have here is an adaptation or accommodation (see above page 786) of a prophecy; and the words are changed to make it suit the actual fulfilment of the prophecy.
It consists of four lines arranged alternately:- a“Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; bMine ears hast thou opened: aBurnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required; bThen said I, Lo, I come … to do thy will, O my God.”
Here in a and a we have sacrifices; while in b and b we have obedience. This is another statement of the truth in 1Sa 15:22 : a“To obey bIs better than sacrifice, aAnd to hearken bThan the fat of rams.”
Here, again, we have obedience and sacrifice set in contrast. And that is exactly what we have in Heb 10:5, except that the obedience is differently expressed. In Psa 40:6, the symbol is the opening or boring of the ears, which is in harmony with Isa 50:5; Isa 48:8; and an allusion to Exo 19:5; Exo 21:5-6; and Deu 15:16-17; while the contrast is in harmony with 1Sa 15:22 and Jer 7:22. The boring of the ears signifies the voluntary acceptance of bond-service, and the promise to perform it. But in Heb 10:5 we have not the promise (as in Psa 40:6), but the actual performance, and therefore the words are changed by the One who came to do that will of God. Surely He had the right to change them, and to state as a fact, “A body hast thou prepared me” in which to obey, and by that perfect obedience unto death to do that which is “better than sacrifice.” The “great delight” (1Sa 15:22) of the Father is expressed in Mat 3:17, as well as foretold in Isa 42:1.
Heb 11:21.-This is not a quotation; but, as it is generally treated as such, and as being in discrepancy with Gen 47:31, we refer the reader to Hysteresis (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ).
(b) By an inference
Mat 2:6.-Here we have several changes by way of inference and explanation, bringing out more of the meaning of the words in the prophet. Mic 5:2 (1) reads (R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] ): “But thou Bethlehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall One come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel.” In Mat 2:6 we have “land of Judah” instead of Ephrathah, which was its ancient name (see Gen 35:16-19; Gen 48:7), as being better understood by Herod.
Instead of the positive “art little,” we have the negative, “art in no wise least,” because, though little in the time of Micah, yet now, after the birth of the Messiah (Mat 1:1-25), it could no longer be so called, in view of the event which had given the city true greatness.
Instead of “thousands,” we have the Metonymy (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ), properly translated “princes,” because Messiah was the Prince of princes.
Instead of “be ruler,” we have “be shepherd of” (A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] rule, margin feed). This explanation brings in the next verse but one in Micah (“He shall stand and shall feed.”)
Finally, the words of the prophet, “unto me,” are omitted, because the emphasis is now on the fact rather than the purpose (though both were true); and hence the reason is given in the word “for,” and the fact is added in the words, “my people.”
Acts 7:43.-Here the citation differs both from the Hebrew and LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] (Amo 5:25-27) in words; but, by Divine inference other facts and truths are referred to.
Instead of using the Hebrew name “Chiun,” in Amo 5:26, the Greek equivalent, “Remphan,” is used.* [Note: Just as “Ethiopia” is used for the Hebrew “Koosh”; “Egypt” for “Mizraim”; “Syria” and “Mesopotania” for the Hebrew “Aram.”]
Instead of saying “the figures which ye made for yourselves,” the object for which they were made is given by Him, who knew their hearts-“figures which ye made to worship them,” thus bringing out and emphasising their idolatry.
Instead of saying “beyond Damascus,” Stephen says: “beyond Babylon.” But this is no “scribal error,” or “inadvertence,” as critics assert.
Even the stoutest defenders of verbal inspiration read both Amos and Acts, as though they both “referred to the Babylonian exile,” and do not appear to notice that it says” beyond” Babylon. The fact is that it is “the house of Israel” as distinct from Judah that is spoken of in Acts 7:42, and in Amos; and, while Judah was taken away to Babylon, Israel was taken “beyond” Babylon. Amos speaking before either captivity (about 780 b.c.) says: “beyond Damascus”; or, beyond where Damascus will go captive. See Amo 1:5. In other words, in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit alludes to the country, and refers to Assyria, and says “beyond Damascus”; while speaking by Stephen, in the light of all the past history, He alludes to the fact that Israel was removed farther than Judah, for while Judah was taken away to Babylon, Israel was removed “beyond” it.
Rom 9:27.-“Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea” (so LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] ). In Isa 10:22 it is, “Though thy People Israel be as the sand of the sea,” etc. Here, by way of inference, the same people are mentioned in other words.
Rom 9:29 is referred to as a difference in reading. “Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed” (
Rom 9:33.-“Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” This, in Isa 28:16, is “He that believeth shall not make haste.” The Hebrew (
Eph 4:8.-This is supposed to be a case where there is a difference of reading. The English is: “and gave gifts unto men.” But the Hebrew of Psa 68:18 (Psa 68:19) is: “Thou hast received gifts for men.” In the Psalm we have the prophecy “that Jah Elohim might dwell among them”; while in the Epistle we have the fulfilment in the gifts received being “actually” given, and the Lord God dwelling in the midst of His People by the Holy Spirit. But apart from this it ought to be noted that the Hebrew
We ought, however, to note that in the Psalm we have
(c) In number
Mat 4:7.-“Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” In Deu 6:16 it is: “Ye shall not tempt.” If the command is given to all in general, then surely it applies to each individual in particular: and so the Lord applied it in reply to the Tempter.
Rom 4:7.-“Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven.” In Psa 32:1 it is in the singular number: “Blessed is he,” etc. But this is not a direct quotation. It is introduced by the words: “David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputed righteousness without works [saying] Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” But in the Hebrew the word “man” (
Rom 10:15.-“How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace.” In Isa 52:7 the Heb. is “the feet of him,” the singular being put by Synecdoche for the plural, just as “the feet” are put (the part for the whole) for the person who preaches.
(d) In person Examples of this may be found under Heterosis of Person. See above, where one person is put for another.
(e) In mood and tense Examples of this may be found under Heterosis of the Verb. See above.
One illustration may be given in Mat 13:14-15, where (in the quotation of Isa 6:10) the indicative mood is put by Heterosis for the imperative.
4. Where several citations are amalgamated. Composite quotations Sometimes a number of separate sentences are drawn from different passages and presented as one connected passage. This is a common use practised generally in all literature. Dr. Franklin Johnson* [Note: The Quotations of the New Testament from the Old considered in the light of general literature, pp. 92-102.] gives some interesting examples from various authors.
Plato, in his Ion (p. 538), quotes two lines from Homer pieced together by Plato himself, the first from Iliad xi., line 638; and the second, line 630, col. 629.
Xenophon (Memorabilia, bk. I., ch. 2, sec. 58) quotes connectedly as one passage, two passages from Homer (Iliad ii., 188 sqq. [Note: qq. Following.] and 198 sqq. [Note: qq. Following.]
Lucian, in his Charon (sec. 22), runs five lines together from Homer. But Jacobitz† [Note: Lucian i., p. 39.] shows that they are brought together from different passages: viz.: Iliad ix. 319, 320, and Odyssey x. 521; xi. 539.
Plutarch, in his treatise on Progress in Virtue, treats two separate lines of Homer as a single sentence, viz., Odyssey vi. 187 and xxiv. 402.
Cicero, in De Oratore, book II., sec. 80, quotes from the Andria of Terence, making up in two lines parts of Terence’s lines 117, 128 and 129.
Philo, in his treatise, Who is the heir of divine things? sec. 5, quotes, as one address of Moses, parts of two, viz., Num 11:13; Num 22:1-41, but both refer to the same matter. In the same treatise (sec. 46) he runs together parts of Gen 18:14; Gen 17:19.
Conybeare and Howson (Life and Epistles of St. Paul, vol. I., p. 54) quote, as one passage, parts of Psa 122:4; Psa 68:27 (Psa 68:28); Psa 122:5, Psa 122:2, Psa 122:6-7; and Psa 68:35 (Psa 68:36. And these are not accompanied by any references or explanation.
Ruskin, in his Modern Painters, vol. V., p. 146, quotes as one passage: “How I love thy law! It is my meditation all the day. Thy testimonies are my delight and my counsellors; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.” All these four sentences are from the Psalms. The first two are from Psa 119:97; Psa 119:24; Psa 19:10 (Psa 19:11).
All these composite quotations are made up of sentences that relate to the same subject. And this is always true of those which we find in the Scriptures. Not so when man quotes the Scriptures in this manner. When he thus strings texts together it is a very different matter; and, though sometimes harmless, it is often dangerous, and is a practice greatly to be deprecated. By a system, which may be called text-garbling, he is able to support his own theories and views.
We recently saw two texts (quotations) thus connected in order to support Fasting, though they relate to totally distinct subjects: “The Lord Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights. Do this in remembrance of Me.” This is a flagrant example, but less likely to harm than many others which are less glaring and more specious.
Quite different are those examples in which the Holy Spirit Himself takes His own words and thus links them together, making one subject of them, even though that subject cannot be discerned by us in the separate passages. The following are examples:- Mat 21:5.-“Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy king cometh unto thee,” etc. This is a composite quotation, the first sentence, “Tell ye,” etc., being taken from Isa 62:11, and the latter contracted from Zec 9:9. In Mat 21:13 (Mark 11:17, and Luk 19:46), the Lord exclaimed: “It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” The first half of this is from Isa 56:7, and the second slightly altered from Jer 7:11. In both passages (which agree with the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] ) the subject is the same; viz., the Temple, and the right use of it.
Mark 1:2-3.-“As it is written in the prophets, Behold,” etc. The prophets quoted are Mal 3:1, and Isa 40:3.
Luk 1:16-17 is from Mal 4:5-6 (Luk 3:23-24) and Luk 3:11.
Acts 1:20 is made up from Psa 69:25 (Psa 69:26), and Psa 109:8, and differs both from the Heb. and the LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).]
Rom 3:10-18 is a long quotation made up of the following passages, which all refer to the same subject. They are composed of two classes, the general and the particular; Rom 3:10-12 are taken from Ecc 7:20. Psa 14:2-3; Psa 53:2-3 (Psa 53:3-4), which speak generally of the universality of sin; while the second kind, Rom 3:13-18, taken from Psa 5:9 (Psa 5:10). Isa 59:7-8, and Psa 36:1 (Psa 36:2) proves the same thing; being the manifestations of sin in particular cases. Thus two methods of proof by induction are employed: and yet some, “forgetting their logic” (as Dr. Franklin Johnson says), see a difficulty in this simple method of proof which is common to all writers of all ages, and of various languages.
It should be noted that in these cases the reasoning is always correctly from the general to the particular; and not, as is so often the case with man, from the particular to the general: which is false in logic and fatal as to the argument.
Rom 9:33 is made up from Isa 28:16; Isa 8:14. Varied both from the Heb. and the LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] Rom 11:8 is made up from Isa 29:10 and Deu 29:4.
Rom 11:26-27 is made up from Isa 59:20-21; Isa 27:9, and agreeing with the LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).]
1Co 15:54-55 is made up from Isa 25:8, and Hos 13:14, and varied both from the Heb. and the LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).]
2Co 6:16 is made up from Lev 26:11-12 and Eze 37:27, and is varied from the LXX. [Note: XX. The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] Gal 3:8 is made up from Gen 12:3; Gen 18:18.
Heb 9:19-20 is made up from Exo 24:6-8, and Num 19:6.
1Pe 2:7 is made up from Psa 118:22 and Isa 8:14.
Objectors have made a difficulty of these composite quotations, as though the Holy Spirit, the Author of the words as well as of the Word, may not repeat, vary, or combine His words in any way He pleases: and as though He were to be denied the right claimed and practised by writers in all ages. So far from seeing a difficulty in this, we may learn many important lessons from these variations, which are nothing less than Divine Comments on the Divine Word by the Divine Author.
5. Where quotations are front secular works, or books other than the Bible
Sometimes the Holy Spirit quotes words from secular and human writings, and either thus endorses the truth of the statement, or uses it against those who believed it and accepted it as truth. Not all, however, that are generally considered as quotations are really so. For example: “As Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses” (2Ti 3:8) is said to be a quotation from the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel upon Exo 7:11. But the Holy Spirit may give this independently, as a fact, quite apart from the Targum altogether; while many believe the Targum to be of a later date.
So, too, the prophecy of Enoch in Jude 1:14-15 may just as well be the foundation on which the so-called “Book of Enoch” was afterwards made up, as a quotation made from that book. We certainly prefer to believe that the book of Enoch was originated from Jude 1:14-15; and, taking this as the starting point, other prophecies were concocted and added by some old and unknown writer. The same applies to Jude 1:9 concerning the controversy between Michael and the Devil about the body of Moses. This Scriptural statement was the original centre round which numberless fancies and fictions subsequently gathered, and from which the traditions started. On the other hand, there are three certain undoubted quotationsfrom secular writings. We will give them all. The first is:-
Acts 17:28.-“For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring’ (
We are his off spring; and he, ever good to man, Gives favouring signs, and rouses us to toil,” etc., etc.
Similar words,
1Co 15:33.-“Evil communications (or companionships) corrupt good manners.”
These various opinions show that the words were current as a common place quotation (Parœmia, q.v. [Note: Which see.] ), and are quoted as such here.
Tit 1:12.-“One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, ‘The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies’ (i.e., liars, evil wild-beasts, gluttons, lazy). This involves another figure called Oxymoron (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ). Jerome‡ [Note: Com. in loco.] says that the poet was Epimenides, and that the words occur in his work called de Oraculis (i.e., of Oracles), whence he is called a “prophet,” either by way of irony, or because of the title of his work. Callimachus (a poet of Cyrene) makes use of these words in a hymn to Jupiter, and satirizes the Cretans for their boast that Jupiter was buried in Crete, whereas he maintains (of course) that Jove was immortal. It was from this that Ovid said ‘Nec fingunt omnia Cretes’ (The Cretans do not always lie* [Note: See Ovid, A. iii. 10, 19. Ellicott refers to Ovid, de A. A., i. 298. This says “quamvis sit mendax, Creta negare potest.”] ). The origin of all this was that the Cretans had a certain sepulchre with this epitaph: “Here lies one whom they call Jupiter.”
Because of this, the “Poet” charges them with a lie, saying: “the Cretans are alway liars, evil beasts, slow-bellies; therefore (O Jupiter) they have built a Sepulchre for you. But thou hast not died, … thou always livest,” etc. But it has been pointed out (by Archbishop Whately, we believe), that if the Cretans are always liars, this was said by a Cretan, therefore he must have been a liar, and what he said could not be true! But all this reasoning is set at rest by the Holy Ghost, who says: “This testimony is true!” In Acts 17:22-23, we have not, indeed, a quotation, but a reference to a matter on which contemporary and later writers give confirmatory and interesting evidence. “I perceive that in all things ye are unusually religious. For, as I passed by and carefully observed your objects of worship, I found an altar also with this inscription;
Jerome† [Note: Epist. ad Magnum Oratorem Romanum. Vol. III. Operum, f. 148.] says (speaking of St. Paul); “He learned of the true David to snatch the sword from the enemy’s hand, and cut off his head with his own weapon.”
Ludovicus Vives says‡ [Note: De Civit, Dei. Book VII., cap. 17.] that “in the Attic fields there were very many altars dedicated to unknown Gods,” and that “Pausanias in his Attics, speaks of The Altars of Unknown Gods, which altars were the invention of Epimenides, the Cretan. For, when Attica was visited with a sore plague, they consulted the Delphian Oracle, whose answer was reported to be: That they must offer sacrifices, but named not the god to whom they should be offered. Epimenides, who was then at Athens, commanded§ [Note: Hence called ‘a prophet’ in Tit 1:12. See The Man of God, by the same author and publisher.] that they should send the beasts intended for the sacrifice through the fields, and that the sacrificers should follow the beasts with this direction: that, wherever they should stand, there they must be sacrificed to the unknown god, in order to pacify his wrath. From that time, therefore, to the time of Diogenes Laertius these altars were visited.* [Note: For further information on this subject, see Sixtus Senensis, book 2, Biblioth Tit. Arœ Athenensis Inscriptio. Also Wolfius, Vol. I., Lectionum Memorabilium, p. 4, 5:20, etc.]
Col 2:21.-“Touch not; taste not; handle not.” These ordinances of men were probably prescribed in these words, and are referred to as well known. We know them also to-day; for man is the same, and human nature is not changed.
-------- Amphibologia; or, Double Meaning A Word or Phrase susceptible of two Interpretations
Am-phib-o-log´-i-a, from the Greek
2Ki 5:18.-“Go in peace.” This was Elisha’s answer to Naaman, who wished to know whether the Lord would pardon if, when he went with his master, the king of Syria into the temple of Rimmon, he bowed himself there.
Elisha’s answer was an Amphibologia: “Go in peace.” If he had said, “Yes; you may bow,” that would have been to sanction idolatry. And if he had said, “No; you must not bow,” that would have been to put Naaman’s conscience under a yoke of bondage to Elisha.
Eze 12:13.-The term Amphibologia, however, refers more especially to a prophecy like that concerning Zedekiah, king of Judah, in Eze 12:13 : “I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there.” This prophecy, by itself, is almost in the form of an Ænigma (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ): for it is capable of two interpretations, both of which are true. The other is in Jer 34:3 : “Thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.”
Zedekiah, in his unbelief and perverseness, determined not to believe either of these prophecies, because he could not understand them. So Josephus tells us. Yet both were perfectly true, as the fulfilment proved.
Zedekiah had his eyes put out by the king of Babylon at Riblah (2Ki 25:7. Jer 39:7; Jer 52:11). He spoke to the king of Babylon, and saw him; and he was afterwards taken to Babylon, but did not see it, though he died there (Eze 17:16).
John 19:22.-“What I have written I have written.” Pilate said this to convey two meanings. First, to state a matter of fact; and second, to dismiss an inconvenient subject; implying that he did no wish to alter what he had written, and yet did not declare that he would not. The history seems to imply that he did afterwards either alter it or permit it to be altered. For
(1) The inscription in John 19:19 was written (probably in Latin) and put on the cross before it left Pilate’s presence.
(2) The inscription in Mat 27:37 was written probably in Hebrew, and placed over his head, not by the soldiers who nailed him to the cross, but by the persons, “they,” who crucified him. This was not so placed until after the garments had been divided, and the soldiers had “sat down to watch him there.”
(3) The inscription in Luk 23:38 appears to have been of Hebrew origin (the Hebrew being put last, whereas in Pilate’s (John) the Latin was last). It was not seen till near the sixth hour, and was apparently the cause of the reviling which followed, “Jesus” being omitted from Matthew’s, which seems to have been intermediate between John’s and Luke’s, while Mark’s was probably the same as that to which Luke refers and gives merely another translation of the Hebrew.
It is impossible for us, now, to know what discussion went on during the day. All that we know is, from John 19:1-42, that the Jews earnestly desired to have it altered, and that Pilate did not decidedly refuse at the time. So that it is probable that the discussions continued, and these different inscriptions are the evidence of it, put up in different terms, and at different times: or it may be that it was the various translations that were so put up. From these considerations we would suggest that the difficulty felt as to the variations in the wording of the inscriptions may be removed more easily and satisfactorily by believing that there were at least three inscriptions put up at different times during the day, and that these, being changed, differed from each other. If this be not the explanation then another series of difficulties is created-as to the sequence of the events recorded in the different gospels. Our present suggestion meets both sets of difficulties at once.
Acts 17:22 is another example. “Ye men of Athens, in all things I perceive that ye are very religious.” (See R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] margin, somewhat religious). This has two interpretations: for they were truly very “religious,” and yet knew nothing of true Christianity.
We thus learn that Christianity is religion; but religion is not necessarily Christianity. To say that a person is religious tells us nothing: for he may be a Buddhist, a Mahommedan, a Roman Catholic, or a votary of any other religious system; but it does not follow that such an one is “in Christ,” and therefore a. Christian.
-------- Eironeia; or, Irony The Expression of Thought in a form that naturally conveys its opposite
I´-ron-y. Greek,
And, moreover, Irony in the Scriptures is generally connected with serious words which make its use perfectly patent and clear.
There are three classes of Irony:-
1. ANTIPHRASIS, an-tiph´-rasis, from
2. PERMUTATIO or permutation, when the Irony consists of phrases, and sentences, or longer expressions.
3. SARCASMOS, sar-cas´-mos. Greek,
We have not arranged our examples in these three divisions, but have combined these together in five other divisions more simply, thus:- I.Divine Irony. Where the speaker is Divine.
II. Human Irony. Where the speaker is a human being.
III. Peirastic Irony. Where the words are not spoken ironically in the ordinary sense, but peirastically: i.e., by way of trying or testing (PEIRASTIKOS).
IV. Simulated Irony. Where the words are used by man in dissimulation or hypocrisy.
V. Deceptive Irony. Where the words are not only hypocritical, but false and deceptive.
1. Divine Irony: Where the speaker is Divine Gen 3:22.-“And the Lord God said: Behold the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil.”
Man had not become “as one of us.” He had become a wreck and a ruin, even as man. These words call our attention to Gen 3:5, and show how false was the Serpent’s promise.
Deu 32:37.-“And he shall say: Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted, Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink-offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.” This is Divine Sarcasm; for their gods were no rock or defence, neither did they accept offerings or give help.
Jdg 10:14.-“Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.” This was Divine Sarcasm, for those gods could neither hear nor deliver.
Job 38:4.-“Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?” Verse 5. “Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?” So throughout this chapter. This is the Divine Sarcasm on all scientists who profess to understand and tell us all about the earth, its size, and its shape, and its weight, etc., etc.
Considering the various changes which have taken place during the centuries in what is called “science,” we may well lay this question to heart, emphasised as it is by being Divine Irony.
Psa 60:8 (Psa 60:10).-“Philistia triumph thou over me.” This is said ironically; for the truth is put literally in Psa 108:9 (Psa 108:10): “Over Philistia will I triumph.” See margin and compare Exo 8:9 (Exo 8:5).
Ecc 11:9 is generally considered to be Irony, but we can hardly so regard it. It is almost too solemn to be Irony. It says: Do it; do all this: “but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.”
Isa 2:10.-“Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord and for the glory of his majesty.” This is Irony: to show that neither rocks nor any other shelter can save man from the judgments in “the day of the Lord.”
Isa 8:9-10.-This Irony is meant to emphasise the fact that; however much men may unite together against God, it will all come to naught. These are the words of God in the mouth of the prophet.
Isa 17:3.-“They shall be as the glory of the children of Israel”: i.e., the glory of Damascus and Syria shall fade as the glory of Israel had passed away. The word “glory” is thus marked by Antiphrasis to point us to that which had been lost, and the height from which Israel had fallen.
Isa 21:5.-This is God’s message to Babylon: to show that all her preparation for defence would not prevent the ultimate cry: “Babylon is fallen, is fallen.” See Isa 21:6-9.
Isa 29:1.-“Woe to Ariel, to Ariel (i.e., the lion of God), the city where David dwelt!” This glorious title is put by Metonymy (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ) for Jerusalem: and, is used here in order to emphasise, by Irony, the depth to which the City had fallen from the height of its past glory.
Isa 50:11.-This is Divine Irony to show the vanity of striving for light and happiness apart from God. It is a solemn warning for all those to-day who are seeking to bring about a millennium without Christ.
Isa 57:12.-“I will declare thy righteousness and thy works.” These words were addressed, by sarcasm, to an apostate and wicked People. The word “righteousness,” by Antiphrasis, marks the fact, which is clear from the words which follow: “For they shall not profit thee.” Had the works been really righteous, they would have profited.
Isa 57:13.-“When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee.” To show that the abundance of riches or people cannot deliver in the day of trouble.
Jer 7:21.-“Thus saith the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel: Put (or add) your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices and eat flesh.” That this was Irony is clear from what follows. They were the sacrifices of hypocrites which Jehovah would not accept.
Jer 11:15.-“What hath my beloved to do in mine house?” What follows clearly shows what is meant by the Antiphrasis in the word “beloved.”
Jer 22:20.-“Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages.” This is Irony, or Sarcasm, addressed to the family of Jehoiakim, who looked to Egypt for help against the king of Babylon: but 2Ki 24:7 tells us that “the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land; for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt.” It was no use, therefore, for Jehoiakim to go up to the passes of Lebanon or Bashan and cry out for those who before had helped.
Jer 46:9.-The words of God to Egypt. Shown to be Irony by Jer 46:10.
Jer 46:11.-“Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt.” This is shown to be Irony by the words that follow: “In vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured.”
Jer 51:8.-“Howl for her (Babylon); take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.” But the context shows that it was destruction, and not healing, that awaited her. So Jer 51:11.
Lam 4:21.-“Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,” etc. This is Irony; for judgment is announced in Lam 4:22. The meaning simply is, that, however much Edom might rejoice, the punishment of her iniquity should be accomplished.
Eze 3:24.-“Go, shut thyself within thine house.” But Eze 3:25 shows that however closely he might shut himself up his enemies should find him and bind him.
Eze 20:39.-“As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols,” etc.
It is impossible that Adonai Jehovah should command idolatry. It is Irony, as is clear from the context.
Eze 28:3.-“Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee.”
God thus ironically addresses the king of Tyre. Daniel, on account of Divine gifts, was esteemed most wise. But the king of Tyre was a mere man, as Eze 28:2 declares.
Amo 4:4-5.-“Come to Bethel and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years: And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you (i.e., you love to do this), O ye children of Israel.” That this is Irony and sarcasm is clear from the conclusion of the address in Amo 4:12. Deu 14:28 and Lev 7:13 are the passages referred to.
Nah 3:14.-“Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strongholds”: etc.: i.e., prepare as you will, but all your labour will be in vain. (See under Heterosis).
Zec 11:13.-“A goodly price.” The word “goodly” is used by Antiphrasis, to denote the opposite.
Mal 1:9.-“And now, I pray you, beseech God (El) that he will be gracious unto us.”
These words are put by God in the mouth of the priests, and His answer is given in what follows.
Mark 7:9.-Here the Irony is beautifully brought out by translating
See the whole context, which applies with force, to-day, to all mere philanthropists and reformers, who preach a “social” Gospel, in order to raise the ungodly in the social scale, but leave the masses short of that which God requires.
“Well do ye reject.” No, ye do evil!
Luk 11:41.-“But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.” It is Irony. It was what the Pharisees taught, but it was not true.
Luk 13:33.-“I must walk to-day, and to-morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.” This is a message to Herod, whom He calls (by Hypocatastasis) “that fox” (or that vixen), and the last words are Ironical, as is clear from the solemn exclamation which follows in the next verse. The sense of the whole passage seems to be:-We are still three days’ walk from Jerusalem. To Jerusalem I must get: to die there: for Jerusalem is become the natural place for prophets to perish in. So you need not threaten me with death from Herod. It is not within his jurisdiction-(see Luk 23:7 : “As soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction”)-that I must die.
John 3:10.-“Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?” This is a species of mild Irony.
John 7:28 is Irony, and refers back to John 7:27. “Whom ye know not” points to the fact that they knew not God, and, therefore, they knew not Christ.
1Co 6:4.-“Set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.” The next verse shows clearly that this is Irony, and a condemnation of what they had really done. For he asks, “Is it so that there is not a wise man among you? No; not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?”
2Co 5:3.-“If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.”
Here, the Irony being missed, the text has been altered in some MSS. (
2Co 13:5.-“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.” The Hyperbaton (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ), by which the pronoun
Here is no command for the saints to-day, no admonition to practise continual self-examination and introspection, to see whether they are in the faith; for Christ is in them. Read the words in connection with the context, and the force of this solemn Irony will be at once seen: and it will be used no more to vex and perplex God’s dear children, by taking words which refer to their state to upset their standing, which is perfect and complete “in Christ.”
II. Human Irony: Where the speaker is a human being 1Sa 26:15.-The words of David to Abner: “Art thou not a valiant man? And who is like to thee in Israel?” This sarcasm was used to show how Abner had neglected his duty.
1Ki 18:27.-The words of Elijah to the prophets of Baal were sarcasm of the severest kind.
1Ki 22:15.-The words of the prophet Micaiah to Ahab and Jehoshaphat: “Go, and prosper”; to show by Irony the false prophecies of Ahab’s own prophets.
2Ki 8:10.-The words of Elisha to Hazael: “Go, say unto him (i.e., the king of Syria), Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the Lord hath shewed me that he shall surely die.” By the Irony in the first clause, Elisha stated a fact, that there was no reason why Benhadad should not recover. In the latter clause he revealed to Hazael that he knew he meant to murder him, as it came to pass. Compare 2Ki 8:11, 2Ki 8:14-15.
Job 12:2.-“No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.” This powerful Irony is meant to emphasise the fact that Job’s friends had no more knowledge than he: and may be used with great truth of many who arrogate to themselves the right to sit in judgment on their sinful fellow-servants.
Job 26:2-3 -The words of Job to his friend: “How hast thou helped him that is without power,” etc.
Mat 11:19.-“A friend of publicans and sinners.” This was said in Irony, but it expresses a blessed fact for all Divinely-convicted sinners.
Luk 15:2.-“This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” This was said in Irony, but it expresses a most blessed truth for all who know and feel themselves to be sinners.
John 18:38.-“Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?” By his not waiting for the answer it seems that the question wasnot seriously put. (See under Erotesis). So, his words in John 19:14.-“Behold your king,” were also Irony.
1Co 4:8.-This verse is true Irony. But other figures are involved. See under Asyndeton, Anabasis, and Metonymy (of the subject).
2Co 10:12.-In the words, “we dare not,” the Apostle intimates, by Irony, that he was far beyond those who thought themselves to be somebodies.
2Co 11:19.-“Ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.”
2Co 12:13.-“Forgive me this wrong.”
III. Peirastic Irony: By way of trying or testing This third kind of Irony is where the words may not mean exactly what they seem to say, but are used by way of trial to the persons to whom they were spoken, not sarcastically, but peirastically: i.e., by way of trying and testing. The Greeks called this PEIRASTIKOS,
Gen 19:2.-The angels said to Lot, “Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.” This was said to try Lot, to see what he would do; for they were not sent to abide in Sodom at all.
Gen 22:2.-God said to Abraham, “Take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” God said this (it distinctly says) to try him (not tempt, in our modern use of the word).
Gen 22:12 farther shows that God never intended that the sacrifice should actually take place. Abraham thought He did, and believed that, if Isaac had been offered, God would have raised him from the dead. See Heb 11:17-19.
It seems very probable that this was the spot where the altar of burnt offering was afterwards erected. Compare 1Ch 21:26; 1Ch 21:28; 1Ch 22:1, and 2Ch 3:1.
Mat 15:24.-Jesus said to the disciples what was perfectly true as a matter of fact, and as though to endorse their position, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But it was said by way of trial to the woman’s faith. So also in Mat 15:26, when He said to her: “It is not meet to take the children’s bread (with emphasis on children, by Antimereia, q.v. [Note: Which see.] ), and to cast it to the little dogs,” meaning herself (by Hypocatastasis, q.v. [Note: Which see.] ). See also this verse under Meiosis and Synecdoche.
IV. Simulated Irony: Where the words in question are used by man either in dissimulation or hypocrisy
Gen 37:19.-Joseph’s brethren said: “Behold this dreamer cometh.” The Heb. is stronger than this, as is partly shown in the margin: “Behold that Master of the dreams, there he comes.” They did not mean this, for see Gen 37:5 and Gen 37:11.
2Sa 6:20.-Michal to David: “How glorious was the king of Israel to-day!” That this was hypocritical is shown by 2Sa 6:16 : “She despised him in her heart.” And so David understood it (2Sa 6:21-22). Note that the uncovering of which Michal spoke referred only to his royal robes; as is clear from 1Ch 15:27, which tells us what he was “clothed” with.
Psa 22:8 (Psa 22:9).-“He trusted in the Lord that he would deliver him.”
Most true, but not meant as truth in the lips of His enemies, as is clear from Mat 27:43. See also under Heterosis.
Isa 5:19.-These words are used hypocritically, as is clear from the “Woe” pronounced on the speakers in Isa 5:18.
Mat 22:16.-The disciples of the Pharisees, and the Herodians say to Christ: “Master, we know that thou art true,” etc.
Mat 27:29.-“Hail, King of the Jews!” So also Mat 27:40, Mat 27:42-43; Mark 15:20, etc.
V. Deceptive Irony: Where words are clearly false as well as hypocritical
Gen 3:4-5.-Words clearly false, for Satan knew the opposite: and Eve ought to have known the same, as they flatly contradicted the words of the Lord God.
Mat 2:8.-Herod says to the wise men: “Go and search for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also” (or that I also may come and worship him). This was false, for Herod wanted to slay Him, and not to worship Him.
-------- Oxymoron; or, Wise-Folly A Wise saying that seems Foolish
Ox´-y-mō´-ron. Greek,
It is a smart saying, which unites words whose literal meanings appear to be incongruous, if not contradictory; but they are so cleverly and wisely joined together as to enhance the real sense of the words. The Latins called it ACUTIFATUUM (a-cu´-ti-fat´-u-um), from acutus, sharp or pointed (English, acute), and fatuus, foolish, fatuous, or simple.
Examples from General Literature are common:- Cicero says to Catiline:- “Thy country, silent, thus addresses thee.”
Milton shows to Despair:- “In the lowest depth a lower depth.”
Examples abound in common use: e.g., “cruel kindness”; “Festina lente” (hasten slowly); “cruel love”; “blessed misfortunes.”
Many Americanisms are Oxymorons: e.g., “powerful weak,” “cruel easy,” etc., etc. The Scriptures have many examples: which are very instructive, because God’s wisdom is esteemed foolish by man, and is yet so wiseas to be far beyond his comprehension. This affords a wide field for the use of this most expressive figure.
Job 22:6.-“And stripped the naked of their clothing.”
Here the figure Synecdoche (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ) turns the phrase into a powerful Oxymoron.
Isa 58:10.-“Thy darkness shall be as the noon-day.” See under Antimetathesis.
Jer 22:19.-“He shall be buried with the burial of an ass”: i.e., not buried at all; he shall have an unburied burial! Compare 2Ch 36:6, and Jer 36:30; and see under Enallage.
Mat 6:23.-“If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness.”
How can light be darkness? The Oxymoron arises from the Metonymy by which “light” is put for the human wisdom of the natural man, which is darkness (Eph 4:18).
Mat 16:25.-“Whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” So Mark 8:35.
Acts 5:41.-“Rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” This may sound folly to the natural man, but those who have been “made wise” understand it. The two contrary Greek words mark the Oxymoron more emphatically:-
1Co 1:25.-“The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
See under Parechesis, Metonymy (of Adjunct), and Catachresis.
1Co 1:27-29 is a beautiful and elaborate Oxymoron; in order to enhance the conclusion “that no flesh should glory in his presence.”
1Co 9:17.-“If I do this thing willingly (
See under Paronomasia and Meiosis.
2Co 6:4; 2Co 6:8-10.-“Approving ourselves as the ministers of God … As deceivers, and yet true; As unknown, and yet well-known; As dying, and, behold, we live;.… As chastened, and not killed; As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; As poor, yet making many rich; As having nothing, and yet possessing all things.”
2Co 8:2.-“Their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.” This is a most elegant Oxymoron.
2Co 12:10.-“When I am weak, then am I strong.” This is folly to the natural man, but blessed truth to those who know by experience the true wisdom.
2Co 12:11.-“In nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.”
Eph 3:8.-“Less than the least of all saints.” This pleasing Oxymoron emphasises the apostle’s growth in grace (i.e., in his knowledge of what grace was to him, and what it had done for him). Before this, (in a.d. 60), he said: “I was not behind the very chiefest apostles” (2Co 11:5) In a.d. 62, he could say that he was “less than the least of all saints,” while, later than this, (a.d. 67), his knowledge of God’s grace made him see himself as “the chief of sinners” (1Ti 1:15-16). See under Meiosis.
1Ti 5:6.-“She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.” This Oxymoron arises from a latent Ploce (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ), the word “dead” denoting the absence of spiritual life: “dead in trespasses and sins.”
-------- Idioma; or, Idiom The peculiar usage of Words and Phrases
Id-i-ō´-ma. Greek,
(1) The language peculiar to the vulgar, as opposed to what is classical.
(2) The language peculiar to one nation or tribe, as opposed to other languages or dialects.
(3) The language peculiar to any particular author or speaker.
It is in the second of these senses that it becomes important as a figure of speech. The fact must ever be remembered that, while the language of the New Testament is Greek, the agents and instruments employed by the Holy Spirit were Hebrews. God spake “by the mouth of his holy prophets.” Hence, while the “mouth” and the throat and vocal-chords and breath were human, the words were Divine. No one is able to understand the phenomenon; or explain how it comes to pass: for Inspiration is a fact to be believed and received, and not a matter to be reasoned about.
While therefore, the words are Greek, the thoughts and idioms are Hebrew.
Some, on this account, have condemned the Greek of the New Testament, because it is not classical; while others, in their anxiety to defend it, have endeavoured to find parallel usages in classical Greek authors.
Both might have spared their pains by recognising that the New Testament Greek abounds with Hebraisms: i.e., expressions conveying Hebrew usages and thoughts in Greek words.
It will be seen at once that this is a subject which has a large and important bearing on the interpretation and clear understanding of many passages in the New Testament.
Much is said in favour of a literal translation. But in many cases this makes no sense whatever, and would sometimes make nonsense. What is wanted is an idiomatic version: i.e., the exact reproduction, not of the words, but of the thought and meaning of the phrase. It is in this that the difference is seen between the Authorized Version and the Revised. The former is a Version, while the latter is a translation. Hence the A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] is English, while the RV; often is not. This refers to words as well as to phrases. To bring the matter home, imagine an Englishman and an American translating from the French:-Gare, the one would render “Station,” and the other “Depôt”: Wagon de marchandises would be in English “Goods-Truck”; and in America, “Freight Car”: Bureau (de billets) would be “Booking Office” and “Ticket Office” respectively; En Voiture would be, in English, “Take your seats”: and in America, “All abroad.”
Fancy rendering Mont de piété, literally mountain of piety, instead of “pawn-shop”! or Commissionaire de piété, literally Commissionaire of Piety, instead of “Pawnbroker”! or Faire des chateux en Espagne, literally to make castles in Spain instead of “to build castles in the air”! Or Tomber dans l’eau, literally to fall into the water, instead of “to fall to the ground,” or more colloquially “to fall through”! On the other hand, what would a Frenchman understand if “How do you do?” were rendered literally, instead of idiomatically: “How do you carry yourself,”* [Note: Or the German: How goes it? wie gehts?] or “the water of life,” Eau de vie! instead of “Eau vive.”
All this makes it perfectly clear that, unless the translation be idiomatic, there must be grave mistakes made; and that, if a translation be absolutely literal, it will be a fruitful source of errors. The importance of this fact can hardly be over-rated; and, considering the way in which many talk of, and insist on, a “literal” translation, it is necessary to press the point and enforce it by examples from the Scriptures.
Idiom, however, is not generally classed among Figures in the technical sense of the word. But, as the words do not mean literally what they say, and are not used or combined according to their literal signification, they are really Figures; and we have, therefore, included them here.
We will consider them under the following divisions: giving only a few examples under each by way of illustration:- I.Idiomatic usage of Verbs.
II. Special idiomatic usages of Nouns and Verbs.
III. Idiomatic Degrees of Comparison.
IV. Idiomatic use of Prepositions.
V. Idiomatic use of Numerals.
VI. Idiomatic forms of Quotation.
VII. Idiomatic forms of Question.
VIII. Idiomatic Phrases.
IX. Idioms arising from other Figures of Speech.
X. Changes in usage of Words in the Greek language.
XI. Changes in usage of Words in the English language.
I. Verbs in General i. Idiomatic usages of Verbs
1. The Hebrews used active verbs to express the agent’s design or attempt to do anything, even though the thing was not actually done
Exo 8:18 (Exo 8:14).-“And the magicians did so (i.e., attempted to do so) with their enchantments, to bring forth lice, but they could not.”
Deu 28:68.-“Ye shall be sold (i.e., put up for sale) unto your enemies … and no man shall buy you.”
Eze 24:13.-“Because I have purged thee (i.e., used the means to purge, by instructions, reproofs and ordinances, etc.), and thou wast not purged.”
We have the same usage in the New Testament.
Mat 17:11.-“Elijah truly cometh first, and restoreth all things”: i.e., shall begin to restore or design or attempt to do so, for Christ will be the real Restorer of all things. The contrast here, however, is between Elijah and John, as brought out by the
Gal 5:4.-“Whosoever of you are justified (i.e., seek to be justified) by the law; ye are fallen from grace”: for Gal 3:11 distinctly declares that “no man is justified by the law in the sight of God.”
Php 3:15.-“As many as be (i.e., would be, or try to be) perfect.”
1Jn 1:10.-“We make him (i.e., we attempt so far as in us lies to make him) a liar.” (See also 1Jn 5:10).
1Jn 2:26.-“These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce (or deceive) you”: i.e., that would, or that try to, deceive you.
2. Active Verbs are sometimes used to denote the effect of the action expressed
Isa 65:1.-“I am sought of them that asked not for me”: i.e., I am found of them that sought me not, as in Rom 10:20.
John 16:5.-“None of you asketh me whither goest thou”: i.e., none of you knoweth or hath discovered; for Peter had asked that question in John 13:36. Lit., None is enquiring.
3. Active Verbs are used to declare that the thing has been or shall be done, and not the actual doing of the thing said to be done The Priest is said to cleanse or pollute according as he declares that the thing is clean or polluted. See Lev 13:6; Lev 13:8; Lev 13:11; Lev 13:13; Lev 13:17; Lev 13:20, etc., where it is actually translated “pronounce.” See under Metonymy (of the subject) and Synecdoche.
Acts 10:15.-“What God hath cleansed (i.e., declared to be clean) do not thou pollute (i.e., as in A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] “call common”).”
Isa 6:10.-“Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy,” i.e., declare, or foretell that the heart of this people will be fat, etc. (See Metonymy). In Mat 13:15, this idiomatic use of the verb is not literally translated, but is idiomatically rendered “the heart of this people is waxed gross.” So in Acts 28:27. While, in John 12:40, it is rendered literally according to the Hebrew idiom: “He hath blinded,” etc.; but who hath done so is not said.
Jer 1:10.-“I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down,” etc.: i.e., to declare or prophesy concerning the nations that they shall be rooted out, etc. The Anglo-Israelites, wrongly taking this literally, declare that Great Britain is now literally fulfilling this prophecy!
Eze 43:3.-“According to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city,” etc.: i.e., when I came to prophesy or declare that it should be destroyed.
Eze 22:2.-“Son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the city of bloods (i.e., of great bloodshedding)?” This is explained in the words that follow: “Yea, thou shalt shew her (Heb., make her know) all her abominations.” See under Heterosis.
4. Active verbs were used by the Hebrews to express, not the doing of the thing, but the permission of the thing which the agent is said to do. Thus:
Gen 31:7.-Jacob says to Laban: “God did not give him to do me evil”: i.e., as in A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] , God suffered him not, etc.
Exo 4:21.-“I will harden his heart (i.e., I will permit or suffer his heart to be hardened), that he shall not let the people go.” So in all the passages which speak of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. As is clear from the common use of the same Idiom in the following passages.
Exo 5:22.-“Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people?” i.e., suffered them to be so evil entreated.
Psa 16:10.-“Thou wilt not give thine Holy One (i.e., suffer Him) to see corruption.” So the A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.]
Jer 4:10.-“Lord God, surely thou hast greatly deceived this people”: i.e., thou hast suffered this People to be greatly deceived, by the false prophets, saying: Ye shall have peace, etc.
Eze 14:9.-“If the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived that prophet”: i.e., I have permitted him to deceive himself.
Eze 20:25.-“Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good”: i.e., I permitted them to follow the wicked statutes of the surrounding nations, mentioned and forbidden in Lev 18:3.
Mat 6:13.-“Lead us not (i.e., suffer us not to be led) into temptation.”
Mat 11:25.-“I thank thee, O Father … because thou hast hid (i.e., not revealed) these things,” etc.
Mat 13:11.-“It is given to know unto you,” etc. (i.e., ye are permitted to know … but they are not permitted to know them.
Acts 13:29.-“When they (i.e., the rulers, Acts 13:27) had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre”: i.e., they permitted Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus to do so.
Rom 9:18.-“Whom he will he hardeneth”: i.e., he suffereth to be hardened. Not that this in any way weakens the absolute sovereignty of God.
Rom 11:7.-“The rest were hardened”: i.e., were suffered to become blind (as in A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] ).
Rom 11:8.-“God hath given them the spirit of slumber”: i.e., hath suffered them to fall asleep.
2Th 2:11.-“For this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie”: i.e., God will leave them and suffer them to be deceived by the great Lie which will come on all the world.
5. Active verbs are used to express, not the doing of a thing, but the occasion of a thing’s being done
Gen 42:38.-“If mischief befall him by the way … then shall ye bring down (i.e., ye shall be the occasion of bringing down) my gray hairs,” etc.
1Ki 14:16.-Jeroboam “made Israel to sin”: i.e., was the cause of Israel’s sin by setting up the two calves in Bethel and Dan.
Acts 1:18.-“This man purchased a field” (i.e., caused the field to be purchased), as is plain from Mat 27:7.
6. Two imperatives are sometimes united, so that the first expresses a condition or limitation in regard to the second; by which the latter becomes a future This idiom was also used by the Latins “Divide et impera,” not divide and govern, but divide and thou wilt govern.
John 7:52.-“Search and look”: i.e., search and thou wilt see.
1Co 15:34.-“Awake to righteousness, and sin not”: i.e., and then ye will not sin.
1Ti 6:12.-“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold of eternal life”: i.e., thou shalt lay hold of, etc.
Sometimes the future is used literally instead of the idiomatic second imperative. See John 2:19. Jas 4:7. In Eph 5:14, we have two imperatives and then the future. ii. Special idiomatic usages of Nouns and Verbs (1) Noun (in regimen) for Adjective. See under Heterosis.
(2) Noun (a second) for Adjective. See Hendiadys.
(3) Plural Nouns for emphatic singular. See Heterosis.
(4) Certain Adjectives or Nouns used in the New Testament, according to Hebrew idiom, in a sense peculiar to themselves:-
“Able,” when applied to God or Christ, denotes both willingness and ability. Rom 4:21; Rom 11:23; Rom 14:4; Rom 16:25. Heb 2:18.
“All” often denotes the greater part. 1Co 8:1, for see verse 17. 1Co 11:2.
“All” often means the greatest degree or quality of that to which it is applied. 1Co 13:2. 2Ti 1:15. Jas 1:2.
“All” signifies some of every kind. Mat 4:23. Acts 10:12. See further for the usage of the word “all,” under Metonymy and Synecdoche.
“A blessing” signifies a gift.
Gen 33:11.-Jacob says to Esau: “Take, I pray thee, my blessing (i.e., my gift and present) that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough (Heb., all things). And he urged him, and he took it”: i.e., everything.
1Sa 25:27.-“This blessing (i.e., gift; margin, present) which thine handmaid hath brought.”
Rom 15:29.-“I shall come in the fulness of the blessing (i.e., the gift) of the Gospel of Christ.”
2Co 9:5.-“That they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your blessing”: i.e., your gift to the saints (see A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] ).
“Doctrine” (
Mark 4:2.-“He taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine”: i.e., his teaching or discourse. So Mark 11:18; Mark 12:38.
Acts 2:42.-“And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine”: i.e., they regularly attended at the teaching of the apostles: i.e., when they taught.
1Co 14:26.-“Every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, etc.”: i.e., a discourse to give.
“To eat or drink.”-As the Hebrews used the nouns meat and drink of knowledge (by Metonymy, q.v. [Note: Which see.] ), so they naturally used the verbs eating and drinking to denote the operation of the mind in receiving, understanding, and applying doctrine or instruction of any kind, as we speak of “digesting” what is said, or of “inwardly digesting” it.
It thus marks a very intimate and real partaking of the benefits of that which we receive through our minds.
Jer 15:16.-“Thy words were found, and I did eat them.” The rest of the verse explains the figure.
Eze 3:1.-“Son of man … eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel”: i.e., consider it, and get the contents of this roll by heart, and then go and speak it to the house of Israel, as is clear from Eze 3:4 : “Speak with my words unto them.”
John 6:51.-“I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever”: i.e., just as the body lives temporally by eating bread, so the new life is nourished by feeding upon Christ in our hearts by faith.
So, John 6:53 : “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you”: i.e., except you feed on Christ in your hearts and partake of His life (for the blood is the life), ye have no life in you. That this cannot refer to the Lord’s supper is clear from the fact that it was not then instituted, and the words could not have been understood (as they were); and, further, that it would shut out all who, from age and infirmity or other cause, had not partaken of that supper.
It cannot refer to the Mass, as there is no drinking at all in the Mass. By comparing John 6:47 and John 6:40 verses John 6:53-54, it will be seen that believing on Christ is exactly the same thing as eating and drinking of His flesh and blood.
1Co 12:13.-“And have been all made to drink into one spirit”: i.e., receive. Compare Luk 13:15.
“Not to be” is a Hebraism for to be abject and vile, to be nothing (1Co 1:28); while on the other hand,
“To be” means to be in high esteem, or of great value (1Co 1:28). God hath chosen “things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.” So also
2Sa 19:6 (2Sa 19:9).-“Thou regardest neither princes nor servants.” Here, the figure is translated; for the Heb. is (as in the margin: “that princes and servants are not to thee.”) R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] : “Are nought unto thee.”
“To permit.” Heb 6:3 : “This will we do, if God permit”: i.e., if God so orders it, and gives the needed grace and strength.
“To seek.” Mat 6:32 : “After all these things do the Gentiles seek”: i.e., they put them in the first place, and are over-anxious, with excessive solicitude. So Luk 12:30.
“To salute.” Acts 18:22 : “And when he had … gone up, and saluted the church”: i.e., and had held familiar intercourse with them. Compare Acts 20:1. See also Acts 21:7, Acts 21:19; Acts 25:13. This is shown from the opposite; 2Ki 4:29 : “Salute him not”: i.e., do not stop to talk with him. So Luk 10:4.
“To touch” for to hurt or to do any harm to. Gen 26:29. Ruth 2:9. Job 1:11; Job 2:5; Job 19:21. Psa 105:15. Jer 12:14. Eze 17:10. Zec 2:8. Heb 11:28. 1Jn 5:18.
Also, “to touch” is used for cohabitation. Gen 20:6. Pro 6:29. 1Co 7:1.
Also, for detention, or for diverting from any purpose. John 20:17.
“To come”: where the simple verb is used for all that pertains to Christ’s advent. Mat 11:3. 1Jn 4:2-3; 1Jn 5:6.
“To see another” is used for making war with him, or of meeting him in battle. 2Ki 14:8; 2Ki 14:11; 2Ki 23:29, etc.
“To build” is used for restore anything to all its former glory. Eze 26:14.
“To walk” is used for proceeding happily and prosperously. Hos 14:9.
“To hear” is used of understanding and obeying. John 8:47. Luk 8:15.
“To confess” is used of abiding in the faith, and walking according to truth. 1Jn 4:15. Rom 10:9-10. So also Mat 10:32.
“Able to say” is used of being able really and truly to affirm from the heart. Pro 20:9.
1Co 12:3.-“No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” Any one can utter the words; but no one can truly, with the whole heart, own Jesus as his Lord, and take Him for his Master, but by the Holy Ghost.
“To eat and drink” is a Hebraism used not merely for chewing food or swallowing any liquid, but for good living and drinking wine; Mat 11:18-19 with Luk 7:33-34 and Pro 31:4.
“To do” for to bring to pass, do a very great deal, do all. So it is translated in Psa 37:5. Dan 9:19.
“To do (i.e., commit) sin” means to sin wilfully and willingly. 1Jn 3:9. See 1Jn 1:8, 1Jn 1:10; 1Jn 5:18. John 8:34.
“To do justice or righteousness” is used for willingly, earnestly and joyfully walking and living as one whom God has justified. 1Jn 3:7.
“To work” is used of seeking to gain salvation by human merit. Rom 4:4-5, as opposed to grace (Rom 11:6).
“To give account” means not simply to render a mere account, but to suffer all the consequences of unrighteousness. 1Pe 4:5. Mat 12:36.
“To will” is used for to wish to do anything speedily and spontaneously. 2Co 8:11. The figure is well translated “to be forward” (verse 10)-as being greater even than the actual doing.
Also for eager desire (Mark 10:35; Mark 12:38), where the figure is well translated “which love to go in long clothing,” etc. Gal 4:21, where it is well rendered “desire.” “Tell me, ye that desire (love) to be under the law.” So it ought to be rendered in 1Ti 6:9 : “They that will to be rich”: i.e., love to be rich.
“To look” or “to see” is often used (a) implying the delight or pleasure felt by the beholder (whether it be sinful or innocent): Psa 22:17 (Psa 22:18); Psa 35:21; Psa 59:10 (Psa 59:11). (b) Sometimes also as implying sorrow and grief: Gen 21:16; Gen 44:34. John 19:37 (compare Zec 12:10-14. Rev 1:7). (c) And sometimes implying attention and provision: 2Ki 10:3. Mat 7:5. 1Co 10:12 (where the figure is well translated “take heed,” as it is also in Col 4:17).
“To live” is used not merely of being alive, or having life, but of having all that makes life worth living, flourishing and prospering. 1Sa 10:24, where the figure is rendered “God save,” “God save the king.” The Heb. is “Let the king live.” So also 1Ki 1:25. In 1Sa 25:6, it is rendered “That liveth in prosperity.” Psa 22:26 (Psa 22:27); Psa 69:32 (Psa 69:33). Ecc 6:8. 1Th 3:8. (The opposite of this is 1Sa 25:37 : “his heart died within him”). The word “life” has also the same usage, Psa 34:12 (Psa 34:13). 1Pe 3:10, as it has also in our English idiom.
“To hear.” The verb
John 8:43.-“Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear (i.e., receive) my word.”
John 9:27.-“I have told you already, and ye did not hear (i.e., believe). Why again do ye desire to hear?” In the latter clause it is used in its ordinary sense; in the former idiomatically.
1Co 14:2.-“He that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not to men, but to God, for no one heareth (i.e., understandeth) him.” The A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] so renders it, and puts “heareth” in the margin.
Gal 4:21.-“Ye, that desire to be under law, do ye not hear (i.e., understand) the Law?”
1Co 5:1.-“It is commonly heard (i.e., understood) that there is fornication among you.” The A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] has “reported.”
“Hearing”
Mat 14:1.-“Herod the tetrarch heard the hearing (i.e., the fame) of Jesus.”
John 12:38.-“Who hath believed our hearing?” (i.e., our report).
“Called.” To be called is used of being acknowledged, accounted, or simply of being.
1Jn 3:1.-“That we should be called the sons of God.”
“Holy” means primarily that which is ceremonially clean and free from defilement.
Deu 23:14.-“Therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing.”
Hence it means separated from a common to a sacred or special use. For places and inanimate things can clearly be holy only in this special sense, and not as regards intrinsic moral purity. The word Holy in Hebrew sometimes means bountiful, merciful, beneficent. And so may have the same meaning in some passages of the New Testament. See Tit 1:8. Heb 7:26, etc.
“Honour” has a wide range of meaning in Hebrew, and is used of nourishment, maintenance.
Mat 15:6.-“And shall not honour (i.e., support) his father or his mother.”
1Co 12:26.-“Or one member be honoured (i.e., nourished) all the members rejoice with it.”
1Ti 5:3.-“Honour widows that are really widows,”: i.e., maintain them out of the funds of the church, as is clear from verse 4.
1Ti 5:17.-“Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour”: i.e., of a liberal (see Metonymy) maintenance.”
1Pe 3:7.-“Giving honour unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel”: i.e., nourishing and supporting her, etc.
“Hand.” For various idiomatic phrases in connection with the word “hand,” see under Metonymy.
“Living” was used by the Hebrews to express the excellency of the thing to which it is applied. In some cases the A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] has “lively.”
John 4:10-11.-“Living water.”
Acts 7:38.-“Living oracles.”
Heb 10:20.-“Living way.”
1Pe 2:4-5.-“Living stones.”
Rev 7:17.-“Living fountains.”
“Riches” denotes not merely money, but an abundance of that to which it is applied; as our English word “wealth” is used of things other than money.
Rom 2:4.-“Or despisest thou the riches (i.e., the greatness) of his goodness?” i.e., His abounding goodness, or wealth of goodness.
Eph 1:7.-“According to the riches (i.e., the great abundance or wealth) of his grace.”
Eph 3:8.-“The unsearchable (or the untrackable) riches (i.e., wealth or greatness) of Christ.” This greatness consisting of all God’s purposes in Christ as set forth in this epistle; which the Old Testament saints could not trace out or understand. See 1Pe 1:10-11.
Col 1:27.-“What is the riches (i.e., the great abundance) of the glory of this Mystery.”
Col 2:2.-“All riches of the full assurance of understanding”: i.e., the abundant or fullest assurance of knowledge.
“To sanctify” often means to make ceremonially clean: i.e., to cleanse a thing from those defilements which made it unfit for sacred uses. Hence, it means simply to set apart, fit, or prepare for a particular purpose.
Jer 12:3.-“Sanctify (i.e., prepare) them for the day of slaughter.”
1Co 7:14.-“For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband”: each (though one be an unbeliever) is fitted to perform the respective duties as husband and wife. So with the children, “now are they holy”: i.e., they were to be no longer reckoned as idolators, but were separated from heathen associations, and ceremonially free from such defilement. See under “holy” above.
How can we “sanctify God,” as in Isa 8:13. Mat 6:9. 1Pe 3:15, except by setting Him high above and apart from every other object of respect and veneration?
“Spirit” was used in various combinations by the Hebrews to denote the greatest degree of any mental quality. As we speak of the spirit or essence of any person or thing!
Luk 10:21.-“Jesus rejoiced in spirit”: i.e., exceedingly.
Acts 18:25.-“Being fervent in spirit” means exceedingly zealous. So Rom 12:11.
Acts 19:21.-“Paul purposed in spirit”: i.e., firmly resolved.
Acts 20:22.-“Behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem”: i.e., with a fixed determination and settled purpose.
Rom 1:9.-“Whom I serve with my spirit”: i.e., with the most fervent zeal.
“Walk” is used of one’s continued course of action and life: i.e., the habitual habit and manner of life.
Gen 5:22; Gen 5:24.-“Enoch walked with God.”
Rom 8:1.-“Who walk not after the flesh,” etc.
2Co 5:7.-“We walk by faith, not by sight.”
“Word” (
Luk 1:2.-“Were eye witnesses and ministers of the Word”: i.e., the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 6:2.-“It is not reason that we should leave the word of God (i.e., the preaching and ministry of the Gospel), and serve tables.”
Acts 10:44.-“The Holy Ghost fell on them that heard the word”: i.e., the Gospel which Peter preached.
Mat 21:24.-“I also shall ask you one word”: i.e., one thing, or a question as to one matter.
Acts 10:29.-“I ask therefore for what word (i.e., as in A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] , for what intent) ye have sent for me.”
Acts 19:38.-“Have a word.” The A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] has a matter; but according to the Heb. idiom, an accusation.
1Co 15:2.-“If ye keep in memory by what word I preached unto you”: i.e., what was the subject-matter of my preaching.
Thus the word must take its colouring from the context. In Exo 34:28, it means the ten commandments. So in Rom 13:9. In 1Co 14:19, it means sentences. The word “son” was used, not only by Synecdoche (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ), but idiomatically, and not according to Greek usage.
“A son of death” (1Sa 20:31) means devoted to death, and is rendered in A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] : “he shall surely die.” So Psa 102:20 (Psa 102:21). This idiom means that the persons thus spoken of belong very emphatically to that which they are thus said to be “sons of.”
“Sons of the bride-chamber.” Mat 9:15. Luk 5:34. A “son of hell.” Mat 23:15.
“Sons of the wicked one.” Mat 13:38.
“Son of the devil.” Acts 13:10.
“Sons of disobedience.” This is very much stronger than the mere tame expression disobedient children. It means that they pertain to and belong to Satan in a special manner; are those in whom he works (Eph 2:2), and on whom the wrath of God comes (Eph 5:6). It does not say that God’s children were such, but only that we had our conversation “among” them. We were, by nature, “sons of wrath” (Eph 2:3): i.e., those deserving of God’s wrath; but, through His grace another has borne that wrath, as Eph 2:4-7 goes on to say.
“The son of perdition” (2Th 2:3. John 17:12) is one who is lost in a very emphatic and terrible sense.
See under Synecdoche. iii. Idiomatic Degrees of Comparison In the Hebrew there are several idiomatic ways of emphasizing adjectives, and making them superlative.
1. Preposition after Adjective By the use of the preposition “in” or “among” after a simple adjective, as Pro 30:30, “a lion, strong among beasts”: i.e., the strongest of beasts. The New Testament has the same Idiom.
Luk 1:42.-“Blessed art thou among women”: i.e., the most blessed of women.
2. Noun (in regimen) for Adjective By using a noun (by Enallage) instead of an adjective, and putting it in regimen: as “angels of might,” which is stronger than simply using the ordinary adjective “mighty.” “Kingdom of Heaven”: i.e., God’s kingdom, as greater and better than all kingdoms which are “of” (
3. Noun repeated in Genitive Plural By repeating the same noun in the genitive plural, as “Heaven of heavens”: i.e., the highest heaven. See under Polyptoton.
4. “Of God” as Adjective By using the words “of God” instead of an adjective, e.g., 1Sa 14:15.-“Tremblings of God”: i.e., great or very mighty tremblings, meaning an earthquake.
Psa 36:6 (Psa 36:7)-“Mountains of God”: i.e., the loftiest or grandest mountains. See under Enallage.
5. Duplication of Noun as Adjective By the repetition of the same word, as “peace, peace”: i.e., perfect peace. So Mat 23:7 : “Rabbi, Rabbi”: i.e., most excellent Rabbi.
Mat 7:21.-“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord”: i.e., most gracious Lord.
Mark 14:45.-“Master, master”: i.e., most excellent Master. See further under Epizeuxis.
6. Two Nouns conjoined By using a noun instead of an adjective, not in regimen, but (by Hendiadys) in the same case and number, and joined to the other noun by a conjunction.
2Sa 20:19.-“A city and a mother”: i.e., a metropolitan city.
Acts 14:13.-“Oxen and garlands”: i.e., oxen-yes, and garlanded oxen too. See under Hendiadys.
7. Plural Noun for Singular Adjective By using the plural instead of the singular.
Psa 51:17 (Psa 51:19).-“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,” etc.: i.e., the great sacrifice which God requires is a broken spirit and a contrite heart. See under Heterosis.
8. Verb and Cognate Noun Even a verb can be exalted to a superlative degree, as well as an adjective, by using with it a cognate noun: e.g., Luk 22:15.-“With desire I have desired”: i.e., I have greatly desired.
Acts 4:17.-“Let us threaten them with a threat”: i.e., let us threaten them very severely.
Acts 5:28.-“Did we not charge you with a charge”: i.e., did we not straitly charge you. See under Polyptoton.
9. Verb and its Participle A verb can also be emphasized superlatively by combining with it its participle: e.g., “Seeing I have seen”: i.e., I have surely seen. “Dying thou wilt die”: i.e., thou wilt surely die. See under Polyptoton. iv. Idiomatic Use of Prepositions
Prepositions are used in the New Testament not according to the Greek idiom, but to the Hebrew. The Greeks had many prepositions, but the Hebrews had very few. Consequently, used according to the Hebrew Idiom, the manifold relations cannot be expressed with great definiteness. The few Hebrew prepositions are used in the Old Testament with various meanings which can be easily gathered from the context. For example, the Hebrew
It is a great mistake, therefore, always to translate
Mat 7:2.-“With what judgment ye judge … with what measure ye meet.”
Mat 7:6.-“Lest they trample them with (A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] , under) their feet.”
Mark 3:22.-“By the prince of the devils.”
Luk 11:20.-“With the finger of God.”
Luk 22:49.-“Shall we smite with the sword.”
Rev 1:5.-“Washed us from our sins by (or through) his own blood,” not “in,” as A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] The R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] renders this “by,” and puts in the margin, “Greek, in.”
Rev 5:9.-Here the A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] renders it properly “by.” v. Idiomatic Use of Numerals
1. According to the Hebrew idiom, the numeral
See also Mat 9:18; Mat 16:14; Mat 18:24, Mat 18:28; Mat 21:19; Mat 26:69. Mark 10:17; Mark 12:42. Luk 5:12; Luk 5:17. John 6:9; John 7:21; John 20:7. Rev 8:13, etc.
2. Sometimes, following the Hebrew idiom, the negative is joined with the verb instead of with the predicate: e.g.
Mat 10:29.-“One of them shall not fall.” The ordinary Greek idiom would be, “not one (
3. The adjective
Psa 103:2.-“Forget not all his benefits”: i.e., forget not any.
Luk 1:37.-“Every thing will not be impossible with God”: i.e., nothing is impossible. So Mat 24:22. Mark 13:20. John 3:15-16; John 6:39; John 12:46. Rom 3:20. 1Co 1:29. Gal 2:16. 1Jn 2:21. Rev 18:22.
4. In Hebrew the numeral is doubled to express distribution
We find this in the New Testament, instead of the Greek idiom which expresses it by the preposition
Psa 109:1-31 -“Saying” should be added in italics at the end of Psa 109:5; all the words down to the end of verse 19 being the words of David’s adversaries which they spake against David. See this passage under Ellipsis (page 33).
Psa 144:12 should begin with the word “saying”; Psa 144:12 to the middle of Psa 144:15 being the “vanity” and the “falsehood” which the “strange children” spake (Psa 144:8, Psa 144:11).
See this passage also under Ellipsis (page 33). From this usage another idiom followed, in the asking of a question. vii. Idiomatic Forms of Question In Hebrew a question often begins with “if”: i.e., “if this be done” means “tell me whether this is done.” But the Greeks never used the “if” in this sense in order to ask a question. In Greek it always expresses a condition. Yet, following the Hebrew idiom, we have:
Luk 22:49.-“If we shall smite with sword”: i.e., shall we smite, etc. viii. Idiomatic Phrases 1. “Answered and said” was used by Hebrew idiom of whatever kind of speech is in question
It should therefore not be rendered literally, “Answered and said,” but translated so as to express whatever may be the particular kind of speech referred to in the verb “said”; e.g.:
Mat 11:25.-“At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father,” etc. This should be, “At that time Jesus prayed and said,” etc.
Mark 12:25.-“At that time Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ, etc.”
Here it should be “Asked and said.” So Mark 13:2, etc.
Mark 11:14.-“And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever.”
It is clear that this cannot be literally meant, for the tree had said nothing. It should be “Jesus addressed the tree, and said to it.”
2. My soul, your soul, their souls, is the Hebrew idiom for myself, yourself, yourselves, etc.
See Num 23:10. Jdg 16:30. Psa 59:3 (Psa 59:4); Psa 35:13; Psa 103:1; Psa 121:7, Jer 18:20 (cf. [Note: f. Compare (for Latin, confer).] Jer 38:16).
Psa 16:10.-“Thou wilt not leave my soul (i.e., me) in Sheol (or Hades, the grave). This is explained in the next line as meaning “thou wilt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” So Acts 2:27; Acts 2:31; Acts 13:35.
It is resurrection from the grave which is taught and referred to here, as is clear from Psa 49:15 (Psa 49:16), where Sheol is properly translated “grave.” See under Synecdoche.
3. “Out of the Way.”
Plutarch (Timol. 238. 3) says: “He determined to live by himself, having got himself out of the way” (i.e., from the public).
Herodotus (3. 83 and 8. 22). The speaker (in 8. 22) exhorts some, and says: “Be on our side, but if this is impossible, then sit down out of the way,” or as we should say in our idiom “stand aside” (not “arise out of the midst”!) The same idiom is found in Latin. Terence (Phorm. v. 8. 3) says: “She is dead, she is gone from among us” (i.e., forced or torn away by the cruel hand of death, “e medio abiit”). The opposite expression shows the same thing. In Xenophon (Cyr. v. 2. 26), some one asks: “What stands in the way of your joining us?” (
Mat 13:49.-The wicked are “severed from among the just”: (i.e., taken away by force).
Acts 17:33.-“Paul departed from among them.”
Acts 23:10.-Paul was taken “by force from among them.”
1Co 5:2 is very clear: where the complaint is made that they had not mourned that “he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.”
2Co 6:17.-“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate.”
Col 2:14.-We read of the handwriting of ordinances which was against us. Christ “took it out of the way.”
We have the same idiom in the Septuagint.
Isa 52:11.-“Depart ye … go ye out of the midst of her,” and Isa 57:1 (lxx. 2).-“The righteous is taken away from the evil to come.”
It is thus perfectly clear that, in 2Th 2:7, where it says that he who now holds fast [to his position] will continue to do so until he is cast out, the “he” is Satan, who is holding on to his position in the heavenlies, until the great war shall take place (Rev 12:1-17), and he be cast out into the earth.
Then it is that (Rev 13:1) “he stands (R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] ) on the sand of the sea,” and as the result of this the two beasts rise up. They cannot, therefore, “arise” till Satan is cast out. This is the teaching of 2Th 2:1-17 See further under Ellipsis.
4. “Breaking of Bread.”
“To break bread,”
See examples of this Hebrew idiom in Jer 16:7 (see A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] margin) “Neither shall men break bread for them,” as in Eze 24:17. Hos 9:4. See Deu 26:14, and Job 42:11.
Isa 58:7.-“Is it not to break thy bread to the hungry?”
Lam 4:4.-“The young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.”
Eze 18:7.-“Hath broken (A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] given) bread to the hungry.”
We have the same Hebrew idiom in the Greek words of the New Testament, and the readers could have had no other idea or meaning in their minds (Mat 14:19). He took the five loaves, and blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, etc. This was in connection with ordinary eating. See Mat 15:36; Mark 8:6; Mark 8:19; Mark 14:22.
Luk 24:30.-“And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.” In Luk 24:35, they speak of how Christ “was known of them in breaking of bread,” i.e., as He sat at meat with them.
Acts 27:33-36.-“This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting,* [Note: See under Synecdoche.] having taken nothing. Wherefore I pray you take some meat: for this is for your health: … And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all; and when he had broken it, he began to eat. Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat.”
It is perfectly clear that in all these cases the “breaking of bread” is the ordinary Hebrew idiom for eating as in a meal. The bread could not be eaten till it was broken, hence the idiom which is used by Hebrews down to the present day.
It is also evident that the Passover was a meal, and it was at this meal, and of it, that the idiom is used in Mat 26:26. Mark 14:22 Luk 22:19. 1Co 11:24. In Acts 2:46, their breaking bread at home (margin) is mentioned to emphasise the fact that they no longer offered sacrifices, and therefore could not eat of them in the Temple. So that though they went to the Temple to worship, they ate their meat at home in their private houses.
It is incredible, therefore, that in Acts 20:7, the idiomatic expression can mean in any sense the Lord’s supper, as is clear also from Acts 20:11. The one solitary passage left is 1Co 10:16, “The bread which we break.” This is referred by some to the Lord’s supper in ignorance of the prevailing custom of the early Christians when meeting together on the first day of the week. Assemblies were few, and the members were scattered. Many came from long distances, and food had to be brought for the day’s sustenance. The early fathers tell us that the people brought from their own homes hampers filled with cooked fowls, and geese, etc., meat, loaves of bread, with skin-bottles of wine, etc. The rich brought of their abundance, and the poor of their poverty. These Sunday feasts acquired the ecclesiastical name, agapai or “love-feasts” (from
It is easy to see how this would in time become a feast; and how, though all partook of the common food, some would have too much, and some too little; and, as it is written, some would be hungry, and others drunken (1Co 11:21). This looks as though the feast or meal itself came to be spoken of as “the Lord’s supper,” from the fact that each received an equal portion, as on that night when the Lord Himself presided, and received it as from Himself and not merely from one another. But in process of time, a special ordinance was added at the close of these feasts, at the end of the assembly, and at the end of the day. to which the name, “the Lord’s supper,” was afterwards confined, Up to the time of Chrysostom it followed the feast; but, as superstition increased, it preceded the feast; but for 700 years after Christ they accompanied each other: and the Lord’s supper was unknown as a separate ordinance! As late as a.d. 692 the close of the Lenten fast was celebrated by an agapee, or feast, as the anniversary of the institution of the Lord’s supper; and in England the day was called Maunday Thursday, from the maunds, i.e., the baskets or hampers in which the provisions were brought. No one but Royalty now keeps up this ancient custom. It fell into desuetude from the superstition of “fasting communion;” which had been brought in (though Chrysostom wished himself anathema if he had been guilty of it!). The “breaking of bread” therefore was used of the love-feast, and never, until recent years, used of the Lord’s supper as a separate ordinance. The error has arisen from the misunderstanding of the Hebrew idiom; and, from translating literally that which is used as a figurative expression.
Rome has done exactly the same, though in another direction. Rome forces the words “to break bread,” to prove its practice of withholding the cup from the laity, or of communion in one kind! Rome argues that as it only says “bread,” and wine is not mentioned; therefore the “wafer” is sufficient! Had Gentiles been acquainted with the Hebraism, neither malice nor ignorance could have diverted the words from their simple and only meaning.
5. To “Take the Sword” is used for rashly usurping magisterial power instead of giving obedience and subjection to God
6. To “Open the Mouth” is a Hebraism, used for speaking at length or with great solemnity, liberty, or freedom
Jdg 11:35-36. Job 3:1; Job 33:2. Psa 78:2. Pro 31:26. Eze 24:27. Dan 10:16. Mat 5:2, with Mat 13:35. Luk 1:64. Acts 8:35; Acts 10:34. 2Co 6:11. Rev 13:6. So the opposite, “not to open the mouth,” is a Hebraism for silence:- Psa 38:13 (Psa 38:14); Psa 39:9 (Psa 39:10). Pro 24:7. Isa 53:7. Acts 8:32.
7. To “Taste Wine” is a Hebraism for drinking with others to indulgence
Dan 5:2. So also to “drink wine.” Pro 31:4.
8. “What to me and to thee?”
2Sa 16:10; 2Sa 19:22. 1Ki 17:18. 2Ki 3:13. Mat 8:29. Mark 1:24. Luk 4:34. John 2:4.
9. “The Son of Man”
Under Synecdoche we have considered the ordinary meaning of “Son of Man”; but, with the definite article, the phrase appears to have a special idiomatic usage of its own. No one was ever so called, but Christ Himself. He first thus calls Himself in John 1:51 (52). The reference is to the first occurrence of the phrase in Psa 8:1-9, where the title is seen to involve universal dominion in the earth. Dominion was given to the first man, Adam, and lost. It is to be restored in “the Son of man,” “the second man,” “the Lord from Heaven.” From John 12:34 (cf. [Note: f. Compare (for Latin, confer).] John 8:28), the Jews rightly inferred that the title involved His Messiahship. That the title has to do with dominion in the earth is clear from the fact that it does not occur in the Epistles, and does not, therefore, pertain to Christ in relation to the Church-the Body of which He is the Head, though it occurs constantly in the Gospels, as well as in the Apocalypse (but here only Rev 1:13, and Rev 14:14).* [Note: See The Divine Names and Titles, by the same author and publisher.] 10. “Turn to Ashes”
Psa 20:3.-This was the Hebrew idiom for God’s acceptance of offerings by fire: i.e., He accepted them by causing fire to fall from heaven and consume the sacrifice. No fire having its origin in this world ever consumed the sacrifices which God accepted. The sacrifices of the heathen were wholly independent of and apart from God. He neither commanded them, nor accepted them. It is even so with all worship now that is not the fruit of the Holy Spirit (who is symbolized by burning fire). For the flesh to offer worship is the offering of “strange fire.” The fire which kindled the incense on the Golden Altar of worship within the Holy Place was the same fire which had consumed the sacrifice on the Brazen Altar. This tells us that there can be no incense of prayer ascending to heaven that is not based on and does not proceed from the blood of atonement. That this fire from heaven was the essential part of God’s acceptance of the offering may be seen from the fact that the fire of God fell from heaven at the first (Lev 9:24) (at the Tabernacle), and again at the Temple (2Ch 7:1), and that fire was kept continually burning.
Whenever God accepted an offering away from the one place which He had appointed the fire fell especially upon that occasion only. See Gideon, Jdg 6:21; Manoah, Jdg 13:15-23; David, 1Ch 21:26; and Elijah, 1Ki 18:38.
This, therefore, is what is meant in Gen 4:4, when” the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering,” because it was what He had ordered. But to Cain and his offering God “had not respect,” because it was not what He had appointed. “The way of Cain” (Jude 1:11) is therefore human inventions in Divine worship! This is how Abel “obtained witness that he was righteous.” This is how “God testified of his gifts.” This is how Abel “being dead, yet speaketh” (Heb 11:4), but few hear his voice. Few understand the great fact that God left nothing for man’s imagination when He made known how He would be approached, and how He would be worshipped. In the last chapter of Exodus (Exo 40:1-38), we have fourteen times “thou shalt” (Exo 40:2-15), in the directions given to Moses; and eight times the significant words that all was done “as the Lord commanded Moses.” Then Leviticus, the book of worship, opens with the words: “And the Lord called unto Moses … out of the Tabernacle of the congregation (for Moses was not able to enter in, Exo 40:35), saying … If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord, ye shall bring,” etc.
Thus it is the Lord who dictates the particulars as to how He will be approached. And, if He does not accept the sacrifice by turning it to ashes, in vain would they worship Him.
It is the same to-day. The true worshippers, who worship God, do so in spirit, and through that sacrifice which God has accepted, even Christ our substitute, on whom the Divine judgment fell instead of on His People. “BY HIM” it is that we offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name (Heb 13:15).
There is no other worship now which He accepts, and no other worshippers whom the Father seeks to worship Him (John 4:23).
11. “The Sons of God” (Sons of Elohim) This is the Hebrew idiomatic expression for angels. In every place where the expression occurs, angelic beings are to be understood. It occurs in:
Gen 6:2; Gen 6:4. Job 1:6; Job 2:1.-Where it is
Job 38:7.-Where it is without the article, “Sons of Elohim.”
Psa 29:1; Psa 89:6 (Psa 89:7).-Where it is
Dan 3:25.-Where it is singular, “A son (Chald.,
Seven times in all, and in each case it means angels.* [Note: In Hos 1:10 (Hos 2:1), it is a different form
It is clear, therefore, that angels are meant in Gen 6:2; Gen 6:4, and their “sin” is there recorded. How it was committed we are not told. In 2Pe 2:4; 2Pe 2:9 and Jude 1:6, it is further described, and is spoken of in connection with Noah. Is it not strange that in 1Pe 3:18-19, where exactly the same connections occur (i.e., “Noah,” and “chains,” and “prison”), they should be taken for men! Especially when we recall the statement that “He maketh His angels spirits” (Psa 104:4. Heb 1:7), and that man is never spoken of as a “spirit.” He is said to have a spirit, but not to be one. In Gen 6:4, the progeny of these fallen angels is called Nepheleem: i.e., the fallen ones (from
All the race, therefore, had to be destroyed. Noah’s sons’ wives were tainted, and this may be the solution of the Ethnological problem as to the different races. There were Nepheleem in the days of Moses (Num 13:33), because it appears from Gen 6:4 that there was another irruption “after that”: i.e., after the days of Noah. It was for the extermination of this awful breed of beings that Israel was used: and yet there are Christians with an excess of (false) charity who deplore the slaughter effected by Israel, forgetting the necessity for the destruction.
It was to these fallen angels, “reserved” and “in prison” in Tartarus (the utmost bounds of creation) that the triumph of Christ reached and was proclaimed-an encouragement to those who now “suffer”-bidding them too, to look forward to the “glory” which shall surely follow.† [Note: See The Spirits in Prison, by the same author and publisher.] 12. “Three days and three nights”
Jon 1:17 (Jon 2:1), quoted in Mat 12:40. The expression, “three days and three nights,” is an idiom which covers any parts of three days and three nights. In 1Sa 30:11 (1Sa 30:12), it is said that a certain Egyptian had not eaten bread and drunk water for “three days and three nights,” and yet it was only three days since he fell sick (1Sa 30:13), not four days. In Est 4:16, Esther says she and her maidens will fast “three days and three nights,” and yet it was on “the third day” that Esther went in to the king; not the fourth day, which it must have been if the expression were literally understood.
It may seem absurd to Gentiles and to Westerns to use words in such a manner, but that does not alter the fact.
Now the New Testament is for the most part Hebrew in idiom, but Greek in language. This is the simple explanation of the difference between it and classical Greek. Moreover, there is reason to believe that the First Gospel, as we have it, is a translation from a Hebrew Original. This is one of the idioms. It is used in Jon 1:17 (Jon 2:1), and by our Lord in Mat 12:40. And yet many Scriptures say that He should rise, and did actually rise on “the third day.” This could not have been if the expression were used in its literal sense. It must have been the fourth day and not the “third.” The fact is that the idiom covers any part of “three days and three nights.” This method of Hebrew reckoning is as distinct from Gentile reckoning, as their commencing the day at sunset and our commencing it at midnight. All these different modes of reckoning are peculiar to the respective peoples and languages and must be duly taken into account. The Lord’s words in Mat 12:40 do not disagree with the Scripture assertion that He should rise on “the third day.”
We have the expression “after three days” once (Mat 27:63), and “in three days” once (John 2:19). But the common expression is “on the third day,” and it occurs ten times. But if the expression be literal and not an idiom, all these passages should say the fourth day! Paul preached the resurrection on “the third day” according to the Scriptures (1Co 15:4), and this is the great Scriptural fact which we cannot get away from.
Neither can we alter the fact that He rose on “the first day of the week.”
Neither can we alter the history which records His death and burial as taking place the day before the Sabbath. “The sabbath drew on” (Luk 23:54. Mat 27:62); “the day before the sabbath” (Mark 15:42); and yet the two disciples going to Emmaus on the first day of the week say, “This is the third day (not the fourth) since these things were done” (Luk 24:21). From all this it is perfectly clear that nothing is to be gained by forcing the one passage (Mat 12:40) to have a literal meaning, in the face of all these other passages which distinctly state that the Lord died and was buried the day before the Sabbath and rose the day after it, viz., on the first day of the week. These many statements are literal and are history: but the one passage is an idiom which means any part of “three days and three nights.” The one complete day and night (24 hours) and the parts of two nights (36 hours in all) fully satisfy both the idiom and the history.
It may be added that we have a similar usage in English. When a person is sentenced to “three days’ imprisonment,” it may be late in the evening of the first day when he arrives at the prison, but when the doors open on the morning of the third day (not the fourth) he walks out a free man. In other words, if a person is commited to prison for three days-and he reaches it on Monday night-he leaves it the first thing on Wednesday morning.
See The Coming Prince, by Dr. Robert Anderson, C.B. On the other hand,
“Thou sayest” is not, as is generally supposed, an idiomatic expression, conveying merely a simple affirmation or consent. The fact is that
See, e.g., Mat 26:25 : “Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said., Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said it thyself,” not I. Thou hast taken the fatal word “traitor” on thine own lips.
So, in Mat 26:63-64, the High Priest (before whom Jesus had held his peace) asked, “Tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus saith unto him, “Thou hast said it thyself,” not I. I neither affirm it nor deny it. Thou hast spoken the word. But then not to leave the matter in further suspense, Jesus says: “Only, I tell you, hereafter ye will see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of Power, and coming upon the clouds of heaven.”
It has been suggested that
thou art Petros (i.e., Peter,-or a stone) might originally have been written as one word,
thou saidst. But against this are to be placed the following objections:
1. There are the Palæographical objections as to the suggested abbreviations (a) of eips for eipes or eipas; (b) of ps for petros. The only known ancient abbreviation of Petros or Peter is in one of the Vienna Papyrus Fragments from Fayûm, where it is written
2. There is the objection arising from the absence of definite ms. authority, which makes the evidence conjectural rather than documentary.
3. There is the objection arising from the actual context, which is unquestioned; the two words “thou sayest” do not follow at all. Try it: “And I say to thee, That thou saidst, and upon this rock I shall build My Church.” It will be seen at once that the difficulty is increased instead of being removed! Had the words been in the previous verse, the case would be different; but, coming after the declaration in verse 17, and especially after the formula, “And I also say to thee,” the words “thou saidst” seem to be quite impossible. The best exposition of the passage is that which distinguishes between the two words petros, a stone, a rolling stone, a stone for throwing; and petra, a rock, or cliff, which cannot be moved.
Thou art a petros (a vacillating, unstable man, no one can build on thee), but upon this petra (this rock which flesh and blood cannot reveal, but which is revealed only by God Himself, upon Christ as “the Son of God”), I shall build My Assembly. And so it came to pass. For in Gal 1:15-16 Paul says, “When it pleased God … to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood”: i.e., I conferred not with those who know not all the truth involved in preaching Christ as “the Son of God.” For all such are born of blood, or of the will of the flesh, and they learn these truths only by Divine revelation. We have the same word “reveal” in Mat 16:17 (as we have also “flesh and blood”) and Gal 1:16, which is most significant. Paul was the wise master-builder. Paul was the first to preach Christ as “the Son of God,” as declared in Acts 9:20. This therefore was the petra-the rock foundation of the Church of the living God; and no mere petros or unstable man. Thus we have the contrast between the two, the petros and the petra, the stone and the ROCK. ix. Idioms arising from other Figures of Speech
Certain idiomatic phrases arise out of other Figures of Speech, and they will be found, as scattered examples, throughout this work. For example, Pleonasm gives rise to a few; but the following are important, from Anthropopatheia. They will be found under that figure:
“To hide from one’s eyes. To swear by one’s soul. To hide one’s face. To hide one’s eyes. To spare with the eyes. To stretch forth the hand. To put forth the hand. To shake the hand. To make the hand heavy. To make the hand light. To withdraw the hand. To turn the hand upon. To lift up the hand. To spread forth the hand. To turn the hand back. To smite or clap the hands. To open the hand,” etc. etc.
Synecdoche and Metonymy also give rise to the peculiar usage of certain words in certain phrases: and these Figures must be referred to, as it is unnecessary to repeat them here. x. Changes of Usage of Words, in the Greek Language
These may be added as another class: where the meanings of words change in the course of centuries, even among the same people. The Greek of the New Testament is, as we have seen, full of the idioms of another language (Hebrew). But there is more than this. Greek is a language which was spoken and used by different races under different conditions at different times and in different countries. In the interpretation of Scripture, we have to take into account the fact that Greek was a living language, and was consequently marked by constant gradual changes. The New Testament Greek is four centuries later than Attic Greek. It is, therefore, impossible for us to depend solely on Attic Greek for its understanding and meaning.
Examples could be given of these changes:-
It is clear therefore that any correct interpretation of New Testament Greek must take into account, not only particular usages, but also changes of usage. This properly comes under Idiom, and forms one of its most interesting and important branches. Biblical Greek occupies an unique position, and has never yet secured the attention and study which it demands. It is a neglected study, and is destitute alike of Lexicon and Grammar.* [Note: The late Professor Hatch, of Oxford, has shown the importance of this branch of Biblical study, and laid the foundations for it in his Essays in Biblical Greek. Clarendon Press, 1889.]
We can, here, give only a few examples of the idiomatic usage of certain important Greek words in the New Testament, which had been changed from their original classical meaning, and were used in a different Biblical sense. It is clear that many words which had been used by heathens could not possibly be brought into use in the sphere of spiritual and Divine truths without considerable modifications, and, in some cases, important changes. The same phenomenon is encountered to-day, wherever the attempt is made to translate the Bible into a heathen language. The knowledge of these changes as they affect the more important theological words is absolutely necessary to the correct interpretation of the New Testament Scriptures.
Dr. Hatch gives (among others) the following instructive examples:-
It explains also 1Ti 4:13.
Hence in Luk 11:53, where it is rendered “provoke him to speak,” it means they began to put questions to Him as if they were questioning a pupil.
Also of
All trace of this vanishes in later Greek, and it was used of any chest, especially of what we should call the strong-box, or coffer. In the LXX [Note: XX The Septuagint Version (325 b.c.).] it is used in 2Ch 24:8; 2Ch 24:10-11. See 2Ki 12:9, etc., where we have
Hence its meaning and use in John 12:6; John 13:29.
Dr. Hatch observes that “the attempt to give it in certain passages its classical meaning of ‘testament’ is not only at variance with its use in Hellenistic Greek, but is probably also the survival of a mistake: in ignorance of the philology of later and vulgar Latin, it was formerly supposed that ‘testamentum,’ by which the word is rendered in the early Latin versions as well as in the Vulgate, meant ‘testament’ or ‘will,’ whereas in fact it meant also, if not exclusively, ‘covenant.’ ”
Mat 6:13 (Luk 11:4) Bring us not into trial, but deliver us from him, or that, which does the mischief.
Mat 4:1 (Mark 1:13. Luk 4:2) to be tried or afflicted by the devil (hence Heb 4:15).
Acts 20:19 -“Perils”: i.e., hardships through the plots and conspiracies of the Jews (2Co 11:24; 2Co 11:26). Heb 2:18. 1Pe 1:6; 1Pe 4:12. Rev 3:10.
Hence in Biblical Greek it comes to have a wider range of meaning, and is used for Hebrew words which mean to oppress; and thus passed from black-mailing the rich, to the oppression of the poor to extort money, etc. So Gen 43:18. (See Gen 26:20. Lev 6:2. Deu 24:14. Job 10:3; Job 35:9. Psa 72:4; Psa 119:122; Psa 119:134. Pro 14:31; Pro 22:16; Pro 28:3; Pro 28:16. Ecc 4:1; Ecc 5:7; Ecc 7:8. Eze 22:12; Eze 22:29. Jer 6:6.) In the New Testament it is used only in Luk 3:14; Luk 19:8. The distinction between the following words in classical and Septuagint and New Testament Greek is not observed in the Translations:-
See Psa 10:9; Psa 12:5 (Psa 12:6); Psa 34:6; Psa 35:10; Psa 37:14; Psa 40:17 (18); Psa 72:4, Psa 72:13; Psa 76:9 (Psa 76:10); Psa 147:6. This is the sense underlying these words in the New Testament.
Professor Deissmann* [Note: Bibelstudien, Marburg, 1895, and Neue Bibelstudieu, 1897.] has recently illustrated many New Testament idiomatic usages and expressions from the collections of papyri at Berlin and Vienna. They were recently discovered in Egypt, and are of the age of the Ptolemies. They consist of petitions, letters, receipts, accounts, divorces, bribes, etc. His contention is that these contain marks, not of what is called “New Testament Greek,” but of the vernacular usage of words at that time: e.g., he shows that
Inscriptions are quoted from the Egyptian papyri, which show that
It is most important that these should be carefully noticed: otherwise many words and expressions in the English of the A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] cannot be understood.
It is most instructive to observe the evidence afforded by many of these changes as to the constant effect of fallen human nature; which, in its use of words, is constantly lowering and degrading their meaning:
“All to brake” (Jdg 9:53). This is an old Anglo-Saxon word tobrecan, from which the prefix “to” has got separated. It means altogether or completely smashed. (See Spenser’s Faerie Queene: 4. 7. 66; Milton’s Comus 379, “all to ruffl’d.” So that “all to” meant “altogether”).
“And if” (Mat 24:48. 1Co 7:11). “But and if”: i.e., but even if.
“A work” (2Ch 2:18).
“A fishing” (John 21:3). The “a” is a softening down of the Anglo-Saxon “on”: “on sleep” (Acts 13:36).
“Away with” (Isa 1:13) meant to tolerate.
“By and by” (Luk 21:19) meant immediately.
“Come at” (Num 6:6) meant to come near, as in R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.]
“Company with” (1Co 5:9. Compare v. 11) meant to have company with, as in R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] : i.e., to associate with.
“Do to wit” (2Co 8:1) meant make to know (see “Wit” below): to certify.
“Fetched a compass” (2Ki 3:9) meant to make a circuit, or round-about course (as in R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] ). So Acts 28:13.
“For to do” (Deu 4:1) Here, the “for” was used in the sense of “in order that”: i.e., that ye may do.
“Full well” (Mark 7:9): i.e., with full knowledge.
“Go to” (Jas 4:13) meant come now.
“On sleep” (Acts 13:36). The “on” has now become softened in modern usage to “a”-asleep.
“Presently” (1Sa 2:16. Pro 12:16. Mat 21:19; Mat 26:53. Php 2:23) meant immediately.
“Prevent” (Psa 59:10 (11); Psa 79:8; Psa 88:13 (14); Psa 119:148. 1Th 4:15) meant to go or come before, precede. See under Ellipsis, Psa 12:6 (7).
“Strike hands” (Job 17:3) meant to conclude a bargain by shaking hands.
“Trow” (Luk 17:9) meant to suppose or imagine (A.S., treowian, to believe).
“Wit” or “to wit” (Gen 24:21. Exo 2:4) meant to know. Hence it came to mean any special cleverness (as a noun), and then humour. So “wot” meant to know (Acts 3:17. Rom 11:2, etc.), and “witty” (Pro 8:12) meant simply skilful or clever, and “wittingly” (Gen 48:14) knowingly, skilfully.
“Wist” (Mark 14:40) is the past tense of wit, knew. “Unwittingly” (Jos 20:3) meant unknowingly. R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] margin, through error.
“Whit” (1Sa 3:18. 2Co 11:5). This is the Anglo-Saxon, wiht, a person or thing; hence “not a whit” meant not at all.
“Very” (Gen 27:21. Pro 17:9. John 7:26; John 8:4) meant true, real. So there are certain words which have changed their meaning in the course of years:- “Advisement” (1Ch 12:19) meant deliberation: from the Latin ad, to, and visum, seemed good).
“Adventure” (Deu 28:56. Acts 19:31) meant to venture to go.
“Artillery” (1Sa 20:40). This meant (from the Low Latin artillaria, any warlike weapons, hence) bows and arrows. To-day we confine the word to quite another class of weapon.
“Assay” (Job 4:2) meant to attempt, to try.
“Beeves” (Num 31:33, etc.) was the plural of “beef”: the Norman-French for ox.
“Bonnet” (Exo 28:40) was at one time used of a man’s headdress: and is still so used in Scotland.
“Brigandine” (Jer 46:4; Jer 51:3) was a coat of mail. Now we use the word brigand in a special sense.
“Carriages” (Acts 21:15). From the three voices of the Greek Verb we have Carriage (passive: i.e., that which I carry): Carry (middle: i.e., how I carry myself); Carriage (active: i.e., that which carries me). The former of these uses of the word (from the Passive) is now obsolete.
“Clouted” (Jos 9:5) meant patched. And “Clouts” (Jer 38:11-12).
“To ear” (1Sa 8:12. Isa 30:24) meant to plough (from Anglo-Saxon erian, to plough). So the R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] now renders it; in 1Sa 8:12, spelling it “plow,” but in Isa 30:24, “till.” Compare Gen 45:6, “Neither earing nor harvest.” Exo 34:21. Deu 21:4.
“Earing” (Gen 45:6. Exo 34:21) meant, as in R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] , plowing.
“Eared” (Deu 21:4) meant ploughed.
“Earnest” (2Co 1:22. Eph 1:14) meant a pledge; but differing from an ordinary pledge in this, that while a pledge might be of a different kind, the earnest was a pledge of the same kind.
“Fast” (Ruth 2:8) was used in the sense of close, near.
“Fat” (Joe 2:24. Mark 12:1) was used for a Vat, from Anglo-Saxon faet, which was pronounced vat.
“Goodman” (Mat 20:11) meant householder (as in R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] ).
“Libertines” (Acts 6:9), a class of freedmen amonst the Romans.
“Lusty” (Jdg 3:29) meant merely vigorous; and Lust meant simply pleasure or desire generally, as Exo 15:9. Deu 12:15, etc. 2Ti 4:3 : John 8:44. 1Jn 2:16. Now we use it of one special form of desire.
“Mote” (Mat 7:3) is the Anglo-Saxon mot, i.e., a particle of dust.
“Naughty” (Pro 6:12; Pro 17:4. Jer 24:2) meant worth naught, worthless. Now we use it of any evil, and sometimes of some special form.
“Nephew” (Jdg 12:14. Job 18:19) meant a grandson. See Isa 14:22. 1Ti 5:4 from the Latin nepos.
“Occupy” (Luk 19:13) meant to carry on business, to trade, from the Latin occupare, to lay hold of. Hence our word “occupation.”
“Outgoings,” Jos 17:9. Psa 65:8 (9), meant utmost limits.
“Penny” (Mat 20:2) was used of any piece of money. Even silver money used to be so called. Hence the phrase: “to turn a penny.” In Icelandic, peningr means cattle, as well as money. Now it is limited to a particular coin, which we represent by “d” (the initial of denarius). “A penny a day” was the idiom for the ordinary wage for such labour. In Luk 10:35, the “two pence” equalled two days’ wages or double pay.
“Publican” (Mat 9:10, etc., etc.) was the Latin Publicanus, a tax-collector. Now the usage is changed to a Vintner.
“Quick” (Lev 13:10; Lev 13:24. Num 16:30. Psa 55:15; Psa 124:3. Isa 11:3. Acts 10:42. 2Ti 4:1. Heb 4:12. 1Pe 4:5) is the Anglo-Saxon cwic, alive, as opposite to dead. Now we use it in the sense of lively as opposite to sluggish. So
“Quicken” means to make alive (Psa 71:20; Psa 80:18; Psa 119:25; Psa 119:37; Psa 119:40; Psa 119:88; Psa 119:107; Psa 119:149; Psa 119:154; Psa 119:156; Psa 119:159; Psa 143:11. Rom 13:11).
“Quickened,” made alive (Psa 119:50; Psa 119:93. 1Co 15:36. Eph 2:1; Eph 2:5. 1Pe 3:18.
“Quickeneth,” maketh alive (John 5:21; John 6:63. Rom 4:17. 2Co 3:6 (marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] ). 1Ti 6:13.
“Quickening,” making alive (1Co 15:45).
“Silly” (Job 5:2. Hos 7:11. 2Ti 3:6) meant, originally, as Anglo-Saxon, saelig, timely, then, happy, and innocent. But now, because a person who acts thus is supposed by the world to be foolish, so it has come to be used. The same is the case with the word
“Simple,” which meant, originally, without guile, open, artless. But now, because a person who acts thus, is considered devoid of all sense, it has come to mean foolish. In the Bible the word is used in its original sense, as the usage had not then changed. See Psa 19:7 (8); Psa 119:6; Psa 119:130. Pro 1:4; Pro 1:22; Pro 1:32; Pro 7:7; Pro 8:5; Pro 9:4; Pro 9:13; Pro 14:15; Pro 14:18; Pro 21:11; Pro 22:3. Eze 45:20. Rom 16:18-19.
“Simplicity” is used in the corresponding sense: 2Sa 15:1. Pro 1:22. Rom 12:8. 2Co 1:12; 2Co 11:3.
“Sottish” (Jer 4:22) meant stupid, dull, heavy. Now, because a person is made so by drink, its use is limited to stupidity thus induced.
“Vagabond” (Gen 4:12; Gen 4:14. Acts 19:13. Psa 109:10) meant originally, a wanderer, from Latin vagari, to wander. But, because those who thus wander, are generally compelled to do so on account of their worthless character, so the word came to be limited to this special sense.
2. As to Persons
-------- Prosopopœia; or, Personification Things represented as Persons
Pros´-ō-po-poe´-i-a (i.e., pros´-o-po-peé-ya). Greek,
Personification is the English name for the figure. The Latins called it PERSONIFICATIO, or PERSONÆ FICTIO, the making or feigning of a person. Also CONFORMATIO, a conforming or fashioning, delineation, conception. The figure of Personification may be divided into the following six classes or groups:- I.The members of the Human body.
II. Animals.
III. The products of the earth.
IV. Inanimate things.
V. Kingdoms, countries, and states.
VI.Human actions, etc., attributed to things, etc. i. The members of the human body Gen 31:35.-Heb., Let not the eyes of my lord kindle with anger. So Gen 45:5 margin: and compare Isa 3:8.
Gen 48:14.-“He made his hands to understand” (
Deu 13:8.-“Neither shall thine eye pity him.”
1Ki 20:6.-“Whatscever is pleasant (or desirable, marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] ) in thine eyes”: i.e., pleases thine eyes. So Eze 24:16 (see under Periphrasis and Metonymy), Eze 24:21 (see Paronomasia). 1Jn 2:16.
Job 29:11.-“When the ear heard me, then it blessed me and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me.” How beautiful is this Prosopopæia. It is more than putting the “eye,” by Metonomy, for any one who used the eye and saw. It is the actual personification of the eye; and, therefore, much more expressive.
Job 31:7.-“If … mine heart walked after mine eyes,” i,e., if I covet that which I have seen. Compare 1Jn 2:16.
Psa 35:10.-“All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee,” etc. When it is written “All my bones,” it is the figure Synecdoche, by which a part or some of the members are put for the whole being or person. When it is written “shall say,” that is Prosopopæia, because they are represented as speaking. This is a Psalm of David: and it is therefore true of David’s Son, and David’s Lord, as well as of David himself.
David could say that he, with all his members and powers, used these words and said, “Jehovah! Who is like unto thee,” etc. The Lord Jesus could use them in like manner of Himself. But there is a further application to Christ mystical: a truth not then revealed. All the members of Christ’s body now say exactly the same thing. In Psa 139:16 we see the formation of those members (1Co 12:1-31). We see how they are placed in the Body.
They are “vexed.” Psa 6:2 (3).
They are “sundered” (Psa 22:14 (15), margin), but never “broken” (Psa 34:20 (21). Exo 12:46): therefore Christ’s literal bones were not to he broken (John 19:33; John 19:37). Their “hearts” are broken, as His was (Psa 69:20). See Psa 34:18 (19), (and cf. [Note: f. Compare (for Latin, confer).] Psa 34:20), but they themselves, never!
They all are “poor and needy,” and they all say one thing. They all own Jesus as “the Lord”; and all confess that there is none like Him. Sometimes they ask the question (Psa 89:6 (7); Psa 71:19. Exo 15:11), and sometimes they answer it (Deu 33:26-27. 1Sa 2:2).
They thus confess Him as beyond compare, because He delivers the “poor and needy” from the strong spoiler. From the Law which was too strong (Gal 3:10; Gal 3:13). From Sin which is too strong (Rom 7:23-24; Rom 5:21). From the World which is too strong (John 16:33), and From Death (2Co 1:10. 2Ti 1:10. Hos 13:14).
Psa 68:31 (32).-“Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.” Here, Ethiopia is first put, by Metonymy (of subject), for the inhabitants who lift up their hands. Otherwise, it is a Prosopopœia, for Ethiopia has no hands! This will be fulfilled in the day of Psa 72:15.
Psa 73:9.-“Their tongue walketh through the earth.” It is the wicked who walk through the earth, using their tongues against God.
Psa 103:1.-“All that is within me, bless his holy name.” See also Synecdoche and Idiom.
Psa 119:82.-“Mine eyes fail for thy word”: i.e., mine eyes are consumed in looking for the fulfilment of Thy Word: i.e. (by Synecdoche) I am consumed. So Psa 119:123.
Psa 137:5 (Psa 137:6).-“If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget.” The A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] and R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] supply “her cunning” in italics. This is usually treated as an Ellipsis, but by some as a Prosopopœia. But it is neither. When the correct reading of the Hebrew is understood, we have here a beautiful Paronomasia (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ), and the reading is “let me forget my right hand.”
Psa 145:15.-“The eyes of all wait (marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] , look unto) thee.”
Pro 10:32.-“The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom.”
Isa 13:18.-“Their eye shall not spare children.”
Eze 20:7.-“Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes.” See under Enallage.
Mat 6:3.-“Let not thy left hand know,” etc. See Parœmia.
2Pe 2:14.-“Having eyes full of an adulteress.” (See A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] margin.)
1Co 12:15-16.-“If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; Is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; Is it therefore not of the body?” ii. Animals
Gen 9:5.-“At the hand of every beast will I require it.” Beasts are thus spoken of as intelligent and responsible. How much more man!
Job 12:7.-“Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee: and the fowls of the air, they shall tell thee.” Compare Job 12:8, Job 12:11, etc.
Job 41:29 (Job 41:21).-“He (leviathan) laugheth at the shaking of a spear.
Joe 1:6.-“A nation is come up upon my land … whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.” So Joe 1:4.
Animals are represented as doing what the hostile nation had done.
See further illustrations under Allegory. iii. The products of the earth
Lev 19:23.-“Ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised.” For three years the fruit of a young tree was not to be eaten, but in the fourth year it “shall be holiness of praises to Jehovah”: i.e., it shall be counted holy to the great praise and glory of Jehovah. See Heterosis. In the fifth year it might be eaten.
Joe 1:10.-“The land mourneth-the oil languisheth.” So Isa 16:8. Nah 1:4.
Hab 3:17 (margin).-“The labour of the olive shall lie.” So Hos 9:2. iv. Inanimate things Gen 4:10.-“The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.” See under Heterosis. So in Gen 4:11. The earth is represented as opening her mouth to receive the blood of Abel.
Gen 42:9; Gen 42:12.-“The nakedness of the land.”
Gen 47:19.-Desolation is spoken of as the death of the land.
Exo 19:18.-“Mount Sinai quaked as though with fear.”
Lev 18:25; Lev 18:28.-“The land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.” “It spued out the nations.”
Deu 32:42.-Arrows are said to be made drunk; and the sword is said to devour. Compare Isa 34:5-6. Jer 46:10. The four lines are as follows:- aI will make mine arrows drunk with blood, bAnd my sword shall devour flesh; adrunk with the blood of the slain and of the captives, bfrom the hairy head of the enemy (R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] marg [Note: arg Margin.] ).
Here a refers to the arrows mentioned in a: while b refers to the work of the sword mentioned in b. See under Parallelism.
Jos 24:27.-“This stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us.”
Jdg 5:20.-“The stars in their courses fought against Sisera.” See under Homœopropheron.
2Ki 3:19.-Here, the figure is translated:-“And shall mar every good piece of land with stones” The Heb. is grieve. (See A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] )
Job 3:9.-Let the night “look for light, but have [or see] none; neither let it see the dawning of the day.” Heb., the eyelids of the morning. (See A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] and R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] text). So Job 41:18 (10).
Job 28:22.-“Destruction and death say, We have heard of the fame thereof with our ears.”
Job 31:38.-“If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof weep.” (A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] , complain. Marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] , weep).
Job 38:7.-“When the morning stays sang together, and all the sons of God (i.e., the angels) shouted for joy.” The stars are also called on to praise God in Psa 148:3.
Psa 19:1 (Psa 19:2).-“The heavens declare the glory of God.”* [Note: See on the whole of this wondrous Psalm, The Witness of the Stars, by the same author and publisher. Pages 1-6.]
Psa 77:16 (Psa 77:17).-“The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled.” (See under Epizeuxis). Thus is the history of Exo 14:1-31, powerfully and beautifully expressed.
Psa 96:11-12; Psa 98:7-8 are beautiful examples of Prosopopœia. It is a figure, of speech: but it emphasises the rejoicing of the whole creation of God, when Christ shall return to remove its curse, and cause its groanings to cease.
Psa 103:16.-“The place thereof shall know it no more.” Compare Job 7:10; Job 8:18, etc.
Psa 104:19.-“The sun knoweth his going down.” So Song of Solomon 1:6.-“The sun hath looked upon me.”
Isa 3:26.-“Her gates shall lament and mourn”: i.e., after the eastern custom. See Job 1:20; Job 2:13.
Isa 5:14.-“Sheol hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure”: and this, to show the great mortality of that day.
Isa 14:8.-“The fir-trees rejoice at thee.”
Isa 14:9-11.-Dead people in the grave are represented as speaking. And Sheol or the grave (margin) is represented as being moved and stirred. That it is the grave is clear from the reference to the “worms.”
Isa 24:4.-“The earth mourneth.” (See under Paronomasia). Similar examples are seen in Isa 24:7; Isa 33:9. Jer 4:28; Jer 12:4. Lam 2:8. Hos 4:3. Joe 1:10. Amo 1:2, etc.
Isa 24:23.-“Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed,” etc. And this, in order to emphasise the glory of the presence of the Lord.
Jer 51:48.-“Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon”: i.e., the joy over her fall shall be great and universal.
Isa 55:12.-“The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” And thus is emphasised the universal joy of Israel in the coming day of her glory, when Jehovah shall comfort her. So Isa 49:13.
Jer 31:15.-Rachel, long since dead, is represented as weeping. So Mat 2:18.
Lam 1:4.-“The ways of Zion do mourn,” etc.This most elegant Prosopopœia graphically describes the desolation.
Eze 32:21-22.-Dead people are represented as speaking out of Sheol: i.e., the grave, as is clear from the whole context.
Eze 32:22-32 are about those who have been slain with the sword, and are fallen and lying in their graves.
Hos 2:22 (24).-See also this verse under Anaphora, Climax, and Polysyndeton; and compare Deu 28:23. Jer 14:22, where the heavens and the earth are said to give their substance, or withhold it, by the hand of God. So Jon 1:4.
Rom 8:19.-“For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.” See under Metonymy (of Adjunct), Ellipsis, and Epitrechon.
Rom 9:20.-“Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?”
Rom 10:6-8.-“The righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise,” etc.
Rev 6:9-10.-The dead are represented as speaking, notwithstanding it says that they had been slain.
For, after the Church shall have been taken away, the Remnant of Israel will be dealt with and go through a “great tribulation” and suffer great persecution. Many will be martyred and “beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands” (Rev 20:4). In Rev 6:9, this time of persecution is not yet over, and those who have been slain are represented, by Prosopopœia, as speaking and asking, How long it would be before the earth should be judged, and their blood avenged. That this is not the language of the Church is clear; for they address the Lord as
They have “white robes” given to them, thus keeping up the Prosopopœia. The word “souls” is put for persons by Synecdoche (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ).
Moreover the dead do not speak.
See Psa 115:17; Psa 146:4, etc. v. Kingdoms, Countries, and States 1. A whole people as an individual man
Isa 1:5-6.-“Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores.” (See under Hypotyposis). Thus the whole Jewish nation is elegantly addressed as one man. See Isa 1:7-9.
Careful students of the Old Testament, especially in the original, will find abundant instances of this Figure. See Isa 7:20; Isa 30:28, etc.
2. A whole Nation is spoken of as a Man Lam 3:1 (Lam 3:2).-“I am the man that hath seen affliction … He hath led me,” etc. This is generally but wrongly taken of Christ. It is the figure by which a People is personified.
Dan 2:31.-“This great image … stood before thee.”
3. A whole People or State as a Woman Isa 32:9-11.-“Rise up, ye women that are at ease;” etc.
Here the whole People is addressed as a class of women. So Isa 3:18-26. Mic 7:8-10, etc.
Idolatrous Israel is spoken of, and to, as an adulterous woman: Jer 3:1; Jer 3:3-4; Jer 4:30. Eze 16:1-63 and xxiii. Hos 2:1-23 etc. This is based on such passages as Exo 34:15-16. Deu 31:16. Jdg 2:17. Isa 1:21; Isa 57:3. Nah 3:4. Isa 23:15-17.
4. A City spoken of as a Mother (i.e., a metropolitan city) 2Sa 20:19. See under Hendiadys.
See also for a city or People spoken of as a mother, Isa 50:1. Hos 2:2. Eze 23:2. Gal 4:26.
5. Cities and Villages are spoken of as Daughters
Jos 17:16. Num 21:25. Jdg 11:26, etc. See esp. Jos 15:45; Jos 15:47; Jos 17:11; Jos 17:16-17. 1Ch 7:28-29; 1Ch 18:1-2; 2Ch 13:19; 2Ch 28:18, etc.
Psa 45:12 (13).-“The daughter of Tyre”: i.e., as explained by Epexegesis (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ), the rich among the peoples.
Psa 137:8.-The “daughter of Babylon.” It is possible that the “little ones” of verse 9 may be small offshoots of Great Babylon, and not literal infants.
Lam 1:6; Lam 2:1, etc.-The “daughter of Zion.”
Lam 2:2.-The “daughter of Judah.”
Zec 9:9.-“Daughter of Zion,” “Daughter of Jerusalem.” And elsewhere often. See Isa 1:8; Isa 10:32; Isa 16:1; Isa 37:22. Jer 4:31; Jer 6:2. Mic 4:10; Mic 4:13. Zep 3:10; Zep 3:14.
Jer 31:4; Jer 31:21.-“Virgin of Israel.” So Jer 18:13, and Amo 5:2.
Sometimes “virgin” and “daughter” are combined. Isa 23:12; Isa 37:22; Isa 47:1. Jer 46:11. Lam 2:13. vi. Human Actions attributed to Things, etc.
Called SOMATOPŒIA (Sō´-mat-o-pœ´-ia). Greek
Gen 4:7.-“Sin lieth at the door.”
See Metonymy, by which “sin” is put for sin-offering, and this sin-offering is a live animal represented as a person waiting at the door. The Hebrew
Gen 18:20.-“The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great.” This is Prosopopœia, whereas in Jas 5:4 we have it literally.
Gen 30:33.-“So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come.”
See under Antimereia (of Adv.).
Exo 18:8.-“All the travail that had found them.” So Gen 44:34. Num 20:14. Deu 31:17; Deu 31:21; Deu 31:29. Job 31:29. Psa 116:3; Psa 119:143.
Job 16:8.-“My leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face.”
Psa 85:10 (Psa 85:11).-“Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”
Isa 59:12.-“Our sins testify against us.”
Isa 59:14.-“Judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off.”
Jer 14:7.-“Our iniquities testify against us.”
1Co 13:4-7.-Human actions are attributed to charity.
Jas 1:15.-“When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin.” See under Climax.
Rev 18:5.-“Her sins have reached unto heaven.”
-------- Antiprosopopœia; or, Anti-Personification The opposite of Prosopopœia; Persons represented as inanimate things
An´-ti-pros-o´-po-pœ-ia. This is the name of the former figure with
2Sa 16:9.-“Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse thy lord, the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head.” A dog does not curse; still less does a “dead dog”: but the vivid figure is eloquent, and stands for a whole paragraph which would be required to express literally all that the figure implies.
-------- Anthropopatheia; or, Condescension The Ascribing of Human Attributes, etc., to God.
An-thrōp´-o-path-ei´-a. Greek,
Hence, the Latin name for it was CONDESCENSIO, condescension. The following are the divisions in which the various uses of this figure may be presented:- I.Human and Rational Beings.
1. Parts and Members of Man.
2. The Feelings of Men.
3. The Actions of Men.
4.Circumstances: a.Negative. b.Positive. c.Of Place. d.Of Time. e.Of Person.
II. Irrational Creatures.
1. Animals.
2. The Actions of certain Animals.
3. Parts or Members of certain Animals.
4.Plants: a.Of Genus. b.Of Species.
III. Inanimate Things.
1. Universals.
2. Particulars.
3. The Elements.
4. The Earth.
I. Human and Rational Beings 1. Parts and Members of Man; or, of the Human Body A Soul is attributed to God in condescension, so that we may understand His essence and will: i.e., God Himself.
Lev 26:11.-“And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you”: i.e., I myself (see under Idiom and Synecdoche). So Psa 11:5. Isa 1:14; Isa 42:1. Jer 5:9; Jer 5:29; Jer 15:1 (rendered “mind”). Mat 12:18. Heb 10:38.
Hence the expression “to swear by one’s soul,” Jer 51:14. (See A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] ) Amo 6:8, where it is rendered, “by himself.”
Lam 3:20.-“And thy soul will condescend to me.” This was the primitive text, and we find here one of the eighteen emendations of the Sopherim, who altered it to, “My soul is humbled in me.” (See Appendix E).
Jerusalem, personified, speaks, and says (Lam 4:19-20) addressing God:
“Remember my misery and my forlorn state, The wormwood and the gall.
Yea, verily, Thou wilt remember, And Thy soul will mourn over me. This I recall to my heart, Therefore I have hope.” A Body is used of Christ.
Col 2:17.-“Which are a shadow of things to come: but the body of Christ is the substance”: i.e., Christ Himself, either personally (Col 2:9) or mystically.* [Note: See The Mystery, by the same author and publisher.] See under Ellipsis, and compare 1Ti 3:16. Eph 1:22-23; Eph 4:12; Eph 4:15-16. The Head is spoken of Christ.
1Co 11:3.-“The head of Christ is God.” This is in respect to His human nature, and is spoken of Christ as man. John 14:28. Rom 8:29. So Christ is said to be head of the Body: i.e., the Mystical Body. Eph 1:22; Eph 4:15. Col 1:18. See 1Co 12:1-31. Hence
It is used of the Divine presence in happiness and of Divine favour. Psa 16:11 : “In thy face (i.e., presence) is fulness of joy.” So Psa 17:15.
Exo 33:20; Exo 33:23.-Compare 1Co 13:12. Jon 1:3. Psa 51:11 (13).
Psa 31:20 (Psa 31:21).-“Thou wilt hide therein the secret of thy face”: i.e., of thy presence, in Divine grace and favour.
Psa 17:2.-“Let my sentence come forth from thy face”: i.e., Thy presence or Thyself, in righteousness and truth.
Psa 89:15 (Psa 89:16).-“They will walk, O Lord, in the light of thy face”: i.e., in the light of Thy presence, enjoying Thy favour and blessing.
1Ch 29:12.-“Riches and honour come from thy face”: A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] , “of Thee”: i.e., from Thy grace and favour. So Num 6:25-26. Psa 4:6 (7); Psa 31:16 (17); Psa 80:3, Psa 80:7, Psa 80:19 (4, 8, 20). Dan 9:17.
Mat 18:10.-“Their angels do always behold the face of my Father”: i.e., enjoy or stand in His presence, which is explained by 2Ki 25:19. Est 1:14.
Hence the hiding of God’s face meant the withholding of His grace and favour.
Psa 13:1 (2): Psa 27:9; Psa 30:7 (8). Eze 39:24.
It is used of the Divine presence in anger and judgment.
Psa 9:3 (Psa 9:4).-“They shall fall and perish from thy face” (i.e., at Thy presence manifested in judgment).
Psa 21:9 (Psa 21:10).-“Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of Thy face” (i.e., Thy presence in judgment). The A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] actually renders this “anger”: but not in
Psa 34:16.-“The face of the Lord is against them that do evil” (i.e., the anger of the Lord, as in Psa 21:9 and Lam 4:16. See A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] )
2Th 1:9.-“The face of the Lord.” Here, it is rendered “presence.” See under Ellipsis. So 1Pe 3:12.
It is used of Jehovah Himself, for emphasis.
Exo 33:14-15, as is explained in Exo 33:16, and Isa 63:9. Exo 23:20, etc., where doubtless Christ is meant by “the angel.” So Exo 23:15 : “None shall appear before my face (i.e., Me) empty.”
Lev 17:10.-“I will set my face (i.e., myself) against that soul.” So Jer 21:10.
Hence the shewbread was called the bread of the presence (lit., the bread of the faces), because it was in the holy place in the manifested presence of God.
Exo 25:30.-“Thou shalt set upon the table the bread of the faces (
Psa 27:8.-“Seek ye my face”: i.e., seek me.
Psa 100:2.-“Come before his face (i.e., before Him) with singing.”
Psa 105:4.-“Seek his face (i.e., Himself) evermore.” So 2Sa 21:1 : “And David enquired of the Lord”: lit., sought the face of the Lord. (See A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] )
Psa 139:7.-“Whither shall I flee from thy face?” (A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] , presence): i.e., from Thee.
Hence “Face to face” means great intimacy. Deu 5:4; Deu 34:10. Num 12:6-7, etc., which is explained by Exo 20:18-21. In Num 12:8 we have “mouth to mouth” for the first time. See below.
Eyes are attributed to God.
2Sa 16:22.-“The Lord will behold with his eye.” This was the primitive text; and is one of the eighteen passages altered by the Sopherim (see Appendix E) to “mine eye,” which has been taken (by Metonymy) to stand for tears or affliction.
Zec 2:8 (12).-“He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of my eye.” So the primitive Hebrew text read, but was altered by the Sopherim to “his eye.” See Appendix E.
Eyes are used of God’s observation.
Psa 11:4.-“His eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men”: i.e., the Lord observeth and noteth and understandeth the acts and ways of men. See Job 34:21 : “His eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.” So Isa 1:16. Heb 4:13.
Hos 13:14.-“Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes”: i.e., I will not repent. So Rom 11:29.
Hence the phrase to “hide from one’s eyes” means not to look upon or regard. See Isa 65:16. Amo 9:3.
Eyes are used of God’s grace and favour.
Deu 11:12.-“The eyes of the Jehovah thy God, are always upon it”: i.e., regarding the Land with Divine benevolence. So 1Ki 9:3. 2Ch 16:9.
Psa 32:8.-A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] : “I will guide thee with mine eye.” R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] : “I will counsel thee with mine eye upon thee.” Lit., I cause mine eye to take counsel concerning thee: i.e., I will cause My Spirit to graciously to inform thee and lead thee in the right way. (See A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] ) So 1Pe 3:12. See above.
Hence the phrases, “Mine eye spared them” (Eze 20:17): i.e., I was propitious toward them, and showed them My favour. So Eze 5:11; Eze 7:4.
“I am cut off from before thine eyes” (Psa 31:22): i.e., I have lost Thy favour.
“To keep as the apple of the eye” (Deu 32:10).
Ears are attributed to God.
Psa 10:17.-“Thou wilt cause thine ear to hear.”
Psa 31:2 (3).-“Bow down thine ear to me.”
Psa 40:6 (7).-“Mine ears hast thou opened or bored”: i.e., Christ says, “A servant for ever hast thou made me.” See margin, and compare Exo 21:6 and Deu 15:17; and see under Metonymy.
Psa 55:1 (2).-“Give ear to my prayer, O God.”
Psa 71:2.-“Incline thine ear unto me and save me.”
Psa 130:2.-“Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.”
Eze 8:18.-“Though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.”
Jas 5:4.-“The cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.”
See also Isa 50:4-5, where Messiah speaks.
Nostrils are attributed to God.
Exo 15:8.-“With the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together.”
Job 4:9.-“By the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.” The A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] margin says “That is, by his anger,” as Isa 30:33. See Exo 15:8.
Deu 33:10.-“They shall put (or let them put) incense to thy nose.” A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] and R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] , “before thee.” (But see A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] ) Psa 18:15.-“At the blast of the breath of thy nostril.”
Eze 8:17.-“Lo, they put the branch (the Asherah) to my nose.” So the Heb. Text originally read, but was altered by the Sopherim, “to their nose.” See Appendix E. A Mouth and Lips and a Tongue are attributed to God, in connection with His will, His word, His commands, etc.
Num 12:8.-“With him (Moses) will I speak mouth to mouth”: i.e., familiarly, and with really audible words.
Deu 8:3.-“By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live.” So Mat 4:4.
Jos 9:14.-“And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.”
Job 11:5.-“Oh that God would speak and open his lips against thee.”
Isa 11:4.-“He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.” This is quoted of Christ in 2Th 2:8.
Isa 30:27.-“His lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire.”
Isa 55:11.-“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth.” A Voice is attributed to God.
Isa 30:30.-“Jehovah shall cause the glory of His voice to be heard”: i.e., as in A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] and R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] , “his glorious voice,” thus interpreting and rendering the Hypallage (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ). See Psa 29:1-11 Arms are attributed to God, to indicate His strength and power, which in men lies so largely in the arms.
Exo 15:16. Job 40:9.-“Hast thou an arm like God?”
Psa 77:15 (16).-“Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people.” (So Exo 6:6. Deu 9:29. Psa 136:12).
Psa 79:11.-“According to the greatness of thine arm.” Here, the A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] and R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] both actually render it “thy power” (marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] thine arm).
Psa 89:10 (11).-“Thou hast scattered thine enemies with the arm of thy strength.” So R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] But A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] , “with thy strong arm” (see margin).
Isa 51:9.-“Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord.” See also under Epizeuxis.
Isa 59:16.-“Therefore his arm brought salvation.” So Isa 63:5.
Isa 62:8.-“Jehovah hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength”: i.e., by His strong arm, or, His strength.
Luk 1:51.-“He hath shewed strength with his arm.”
Psa 89:13 (14).-“Thou hast an arm with might” (see A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] and R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] margin).
Here A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] and R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] both render it “a mighty arm.”
Isa 30:30.-Jehovah “shall shew the lighting down of his arm.” Here His voice is used of thunder, and His arm denotes His lightning. The Arm of the Lord not only denotes power, but power executed in judgment.
See Psa 136:12. The Arm of the Lord is also used of the making known of His grace in wondrous power.
Isa 52:10.-“Jehovah hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations.” Isa 52:7-8 clearly show that this was His power manifested in grace to Israel.
Isa 53:1.-“Who hath believed our report (see Metonymy of Adjunct)? and to whom is the arm of Jehovah revealed?”
Compare John 12:38 and Rom 1:16. A Hand is attributed to God, by which various powers and actions are indicated Power and Miraculous Operation.
Num 11:23.-“Is Jehovah’s hand waxed short?” i.e., has His power got less? So Isa 59:1.
Job 10:8.-“Thine hands have made me and fashioned me.”
Job 12:9.-“The hand of Jehovah hath wrought this.”
Job 12:10.-“In whose hand is the life of every living thing.”
Psa 8:6 (7).-“Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands.”
Psa 95:5.-“His hands formed the dry land.”
Isa 11:11.-“The Lord (Adonai) shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His People.”
Purpose.
Acts 4:28.-“To do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.”
Protection, gracious deliverance, and security.
Psa 31:5 (6).-“Into thine hand I commit my spirit.”
Psa 144:7.-“Send thine hand from above: rid me, and deliver me out of great waters.” See under Heterosis.
John 10:28.-“Neither shall any pluck them out of my hand.”
John 10:29.-“None can pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”
Acts 4:30.-“By stretching forth thine hand to heal.”
Providence.
Psa 104:28.-“Thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.”
Psa 145:16.-“Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.”
Prospering.
Neh 2:8.-“The king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.”
Neh 2:18.-“Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me.” So Ezr 7:6; Ezr 7:9; Ezr 7:28; Ezr 8:18.
Preservation.
John 10:28.-“Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” And John 10:29 : “No man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”
Punishment.
Exo 9:3.-“Behold the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle,” etc.
Job 19:21.-“The hand of God (Eloah) hath touched me.” (See under Tapeinosis).
Psa 21:8 (9).-“Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies,” etc.
Psa 17:14.-“From men which are thy hand, O Jehovah” (marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] , from men by thine hand. Compare R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] ): i.e., “from the men who are instruments in Thy hand, O Jehovah.”
Psa 38:2 (3).-“Thy hand presseth me sore.”
Acts 13:11.-“And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee.”
Eze 39:21.-“All the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.” So Job (Job 23:2) uses the word “hand,” by Metonymy, for his punishment. “My hand (i.e., punishment) is heavier than my groaning.” (See A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] ).
See Eze 27:11. Hence the Idiomatic Expressions.
“To stretch forth the hand”: i.e., to send judgments upon. Exo 7:5. Psa 138:7. Isa 5:25; Isa 9:12; Isa 9:17; Isa 9:21; Isa 10:4; Isa 14:27; Isa 31:3. Jer 6:12. Eze 16:27; Eze 25:7. Zep 1:4; Zep 2:13.
“To put forth the hand”: i.e., to inflict punishment. Job 1:11; Job 2:5.
“To shake the hand.” Isa 19:16.
“To make the hand heavy”: i.e., to make the chastisement severe. Psa 32:4.
“To make the hand light”: i.e., to reduce the chastisement. 1Sa 6:5.
“To withdraw the hand”: i.e., to take away the punishment. Eze 20:22.
“To turn the hand upon”: i.e., to repeat the punishment. Isa 1:25.
Jehovah asks why this should be in Isa 1:5.
“To lift up or spread out the hand”: i.e., to call for the receiving of mercy, or invite to receive. Pro 1:24. Isa 49:22; Isa 65:2.
“To open the hand”: i.e., to bestow or give bountifully. See Psa 104:28; Psa 145:16 above.
“To clap or smite the hands together”: i.e., to express derision or disdainful anger Eze 21:17; Eze 22:13.
“To lift up the hand”: i.e., to swear solemnly.
Exo 6:8 (margin). Deu 32:40. Eze 20:5-6; Eze 36:7, etc. (See also Gen 14:22). This explains the difficult verse Exo 17:16. See the Text and margins of A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] and R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] There is the Ellipsis of the verb which is clearly understood from the idiom, thus “Surely the hand is [lifted up] on the banner of Jehovah.” So that the A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] is quite correct in sense: “The Lord hath sworn.” (See Ginsburg’s Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, page 382, 383).
“The hand of the Lord upon” a man denoted also the power of the prophetic spirit.
1Ki 18:46. 2Ki 3:15. Eze 1:3; Eze 8:1; Eze 33:22. A Right Hand is attributed to God; to denote the highest power, and most Divine authority.
Exo 15:6; Exo 15:12. Psa 77:10 (11); Psa 118:15-16; Psa 139:10. Isa 48:13.
It denotes also His grace and mercy in delivering and saving His people.
Psa 18:35 (36); Psa 20:6 (7) (margin); Psa 44:3 (4); Psa 63:8 (9); Psa 80:15, Psa 80:17 (16, 18).
It is used also of the place accorded to Christ in His human nature as now exalted.
Psa 110:1. Mat 26:64. Mark 16:19. Acts 2:33-34; Acts 7:55-56. Rom 8:34. Col 3:1, etc. Eph 1:20-22. Heb 1:3-4; Heb 8:1. So Christ’s dignity is further described by the figure THEOPREPŌS, worthy of a god. 1Co 15:25. Eph 4:10, etc. A Finger is attributed to God, to denote the putting forth of His formative power, and the direct and immediate act of God.
Exo 8:19; Exo 31:18. Psa 8:3 (4). So Luk 11:20, by which, according to Mat 12:28, the Spirit of God is meant.
Isa 40:12 (a span of the fingers). See Isa 48:13. A Heart is attributed to God.
Gen 6:6; Gen 8:21. Jer 19:5 (6). 1Sa 13:14 : “A man after his own heart”: i.e., His own Divine and eternal purpose; having regard, not to David’s worthiness or unworthiness, but to God’s own will. So Acts 13:22. See also Jer 32:41.
Bowels are attributed to God; to denote His mercies and His pity.
All these figures of Anthropopatheia are figures of Metonomy, by which one thing is put for another. Here, because, when a person is much moved by deep feeling, there is a movement of the bowels, so they are put, by Metonymy, for the feeling itself.
Isa 63:15.-“Where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies towards me?” So Jer 31:20.
Luk 1:78.-“Through the bowels of the mercy of our God.” (See A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] margin). Here it is translated, “through the tender mercy of our God.”
Mat 9:36.-“He was moved with compassion”: lit., his bowels moved. So Mat 14:14; Mat 15:32. Mark 1:41; Mark 6:34, etc. (See also Gen 43:30. 1Ki 3:26. And compare this as attributed to God, Psa 51:1 (3): “The multitude of thy tender mercies.”) So Isa 63:7. A Bosom is attributed to God; to denote comfort and rest.
Psa 74:11 (the hand in the bosom denoting ease, according to Pro 19:24; Pro 26:15).
Isa 40:11. John 1:18 (“In the bosom of the Father”). Num 11:12.
Feet are attributed to God; to denote His presence in the earth, in power, in universal dominion.
Isa 66:1. Psa 74:3; Psa 110:1. Isa 60:13. In this respect the earth is spoken of as His “footstool.”
Footsteps are also attributed to God.
Psa 77:19 (20); Psa 89:51 (52).
2. Human Affections and Feelings are attributed to God
Human affections and feelings are attributed to God: not that He has such feelings; but, in infinite condescension, He is thus spoken of in order to enable us to comprehend Him.
Rejoicing is attributed to God.
Psa 104:31.-“The Lord shall rejoice in his works.” So Isa 62:5. Deu 28:63; Deu 30:9. Jer 32:41, etc.
Sorrow and Grief are attributed to God.
Gen 6:6.-“It grieved him at his heart.”
Jdg 10:16.-“His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.”
Psa 78:40.-“How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve Him in the desert!”
Isa 63:10.-“They rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit.” So Eph 4:30.
Repentance is attributed to God.
Gen 6:6.-“It repented Jehovah that he had made man on the earth.” So Exo 32:12; Exo 32:14. 2Sa 24:16. Psa 106:45. Jer 18:8; Jer 26:3. Hos 11:8. Amo 7:3; Amo 7:6. Joe 2:13-14.
Anger, Vengeance, and Hatred are attributed to God.
Exo 15:7.-“Thou sentest forth thy wrath.”
Psa 5:5 (6).-“Thou hatest all workers of iniquity.”
Isa 1:14.-“Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth.”
Isa 1:24.-“I will … avenge me of mine enemies.”
Jer 9:9.-“Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?”
Nah 1:2.-“God (El) is jealous, and Jehovah revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious: the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.” So Eze 5:13. Psa 2:12; Psa 85:5 (6). Deu 1:37; Deu 32:16. 1Ki 11:9.
Comfort is spoken of God.
Isa 57:6.-“Should I receive comfort in these?”
Eze 5:13.-“And I will be comforted.”
Jealousy.
Exo 20:5.-“For I the Lord thy God am a jealous*[Note: It is noteworthy that
Num 25:11.-“That I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.”
Deu 32:16.-“They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods.” So in Deu 32:21, and in 1Ki 14:22. Isa 9:7 (6). Eze 8:3. Joe 2:18.
Zec 1:14.-“I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.” See also under Polyptoton.
Zeal.
Isa 9:7 (6).-“The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
Displeasure.
Zec 1:15.-“I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.”
Pity.
Joe 2:18.-“Then will Jehovah … pity His People.”
3. Human Actions are attributed to God.
Knowing. Not actual knowledge as such, but the acquiring of knowledge as though before ignorant.
Gen 18:21.-“I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it,† [Note: The Severus Codex reads
Gen 22:12.-“Now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.”
God, of course, knew it already; but, in wondrous condescension, He stoops to make Abraham understand.
Deu 8:2.-“The Lord thy God led thee, etc. … to know what was in thine heart.” So Deu 13:3 (4). The Lord knew already: “For He knoweth the way of the righteous” (Psa 1:6; Psa 31:7 (8). 2Ti 2:19).
Psa 14:2.-“The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see (i.e., to know) if there were any that did understand,” etc. So Psa 53:2 (3). (See also this verse under Epanadiplosis). The very action of our prayer to God involves an Anthropopatheia. God knows all our petitions before we pray. And yet we have to pray as though we were making them known to Him. Php 4:6. Not Knowing, the opposite of knowledge, is attributed to God.
Gen 3:9.-“The Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?” This implies ignorance. The Lord knew; but the question is put to make Adam know and realise his changed condition.
Gen 4:9.-“Where is Abel thy brother?”
These first two Divine questions in the Bible are very significant. See under Erotesis.
Num 22:9.-“What men are these with thee?”
1Ki 19:9; 1Ki 19:13.-“What doest thou here, Elijah?” So 2Ki 20:14-15. Isa 39:3-4. To this figure must be referred the passages which represent God as doubting, or having to wait to see certain results.
Also when God tries, or proves, or searches, it is not that He does not know, but that He may make others know.
Psa 7:9 (10).-“The righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.” (See Metonymy of subject). So Jer 11:20. Rev 2:23. 1Co 2:10. So Christ declares that He will say:
Mat 7:23 : “I never knew you”; Mat 25:12 : “I know you not.” Luk 13:25; Luk 13:27. The questions of Christ in the New Testament are to be referred to the same Figure.
Mat 22:20.-“Whose is this image and superscription?”
Also Mat 22:45 : “If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?”
Luk 8:45.-“Who touched me?”
Remembering.
Gen 8:1.-“And God remembered Noah.” Gen 30:22. 1Sa 1:11; 1Sa 1:19.
Gen 9:15-16, and Exo 6:5, where God speaks of remembering His covenant. So Psa 105:8; Psa 105:42* [Note: See the Structure of this Psalm in A Key to the Psalms, by the same author and publisher.] ; Psa 106:45 : “He remembered for them His covenant,” though “they (Psa 106:13) soon forgat His works,” and (Psa 106:21) “they forgat God their saviour.”
It denotes specially a remembrance for good. As in Psa 25:6-7; Psa 78:39; Psa 115:12; Psa 119:49; Psa 136:13. Isa 43:25. Rev 18:5.
Exo 2:24.-“And God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.” See this passage under the figures Synonymia, Anaphora, Polysyndeton, and Metonymy (of the Cause).
1Sa 1:11.-“If thou wilt … remember me and not forget thine handmaid.” See under Pleonasm.
1Sa 1:19.-“And the Lord remembered her.” There is Hypocatastasis here; for it is implied that He heard Hannah’s prayer (1Sa 1:9), and did according to her request.
Psa 78:39.-“He remembered that they were but flesh.” This stands in solemn contrast with Psa 78:42 : “They remembered not His hand.”
Psa 103:14.-“He knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.” This is the one thing that man will not do: he will not remember our infirmities. Man will remember our sins; but these are the very things that God will not remember (Isa 43:25). Infinite in power, He remembers our weakness. Perfect in holiness, He will not remember our sins. This remembrance, though in mercy to His people, involves the punishment of their enemies.
Forgetting and Not Forgetting is also attributed to God.
Psa 9:18 (19).-“For the needy shall not alway be forgotten.”
Psa 13:1 (2).-“How long wilt thou forget me, O Jehovah.”
Psa 42:9 (10).-“I will say unto God (El) my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me?”
Isa 49:15.-“Yet will I not forget thee.”
Jer 23:39.-“I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you”: i.e., the false prophets, who would say “the burden of the Lord.”
Hos 4:6.-“I will also forget thy children.” (See under Metonymy of Cause.) Luk 12:6.-“Not one of them is forgotten before God.” When God says He will not forget His enemies, it means that their punishment is certain, and will not be indefinitely deferred.
Job 11:6.-“Know therefore that God causeth to be forgotten for thee of thine iniquity.” The A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] and R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] both render this “God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth”: where two words have to be supplied through not seeing the Figure, which denotes that “God (Eloah) causeth the punishment of thine iniquity to be deferred.” The Heb. is: “He constantly lendeth to thee”: i.e., crediteth thee like a lenient creditor.
Psa 74:23.-“Forget not the voice of thine enemies”: i.e., do not defer their punishment.
Amo 8:7.-“I will never forget any of their works”: i.e., I will surely remember them and punish them for them.
Thinking.
Gen 50:20.-“Ye thought (i.e., devised) evil against me: but God thought it for good.”
Psa 40:5 (6).-“The thoughts which are to usward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee.”
Psa 92:5 (6).-“O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.”
Psa 139:17.-“How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God” (El).
Isa 55:8.-These words may be presented according to their structure. (See under Epanodos). aFor my thoughts are not byour thoughts, neither are byour ways aMy ways, saith the Lord (Jehovah).
Jer 29:11.-“I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jehovah, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (See this verse also under Metonymy of Adjunct and Hendiadys). So Jer 51:12; Jer 4:28, etc.
Hissing.
Isa 5:26.-“He will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth.” (See under Hypotyposis).
Isa 7:18.-“Jehovah shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost parts of the rivers of Egypt,” etc.
Zec 10:8.-“I will hiss for them; and gather them, for I have redeemed them.”
Breathing.
Gen 2:7.-“The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”* [Note: Or “living creature,” as in Gen 1:20-21, Gen 1:24, Gen 1:30.] Compare Eze 21:31 (36), and John 20:21.
Laughing.
Psa 2:4.-“He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord (Adonai† [Note: Or “Jehovah,” according to another reading.] ) shall have them in derision.”
Psa 37:13.-“Adonai† [Note: Or “Jehovah,” according to another reading.] shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.” (See under Metonymy of Adjunct).
Crying Out.
Isa 42:13.-“He shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.” And verse 14: “Now will I cry like a travailing woman.”
Compare Psa 78:65.
Speaking, by way of discourse or command.
See Gen 1:3; Gen 2:16; Gen 3:9; Gen 6:13, to Noah. Gen 12:1; Gen 13:14; Gen 15:1-21; Gen 16:1-16; Gen 17:1-27; Gen 18:1-33, to Abraham. Exo 3:4-5, etc., to Moses.
These instances occur so frequently that a great part of the Bible would have to be transcribed if we gave them all.
Standing.
Gen 18:22.-“But the Lord stood yet before Abraham.” This was the primitive Text; but it is one of the eighteen passages altered by the Sopherim to remove the harshness of the Anthropopatheia. (See Appendix E).
Sitting.
Seeing.
Gen 1:4; Gen 1:10; Gen 1:12; Gen 1:18; Gen 1:21; Gen 1:25; Gen 16:13 : Exo 2:25; Exo 32:9. 1Sa 16:8. Psa 11:4.
Hearing.
Gen 16:11. Exo 2:24. So Psa 4:3; Psa 5:1-3; Psa 10:17; Psa 66:18; Psa 130:2. Isa 65:24. 1Jn 5:14.
Smelling.
Gen 8:21. Exo 29:18; Exo 29:25; Exo 29:41. Lev 1:9; Lev 2:12; Lev 3:16; Lev 8:21. Num 28:2. Eze 20:28; Eze 20:41, etc. So New Test.: 2Co 2:15. Eph 5:2. Php 4:18.
Tasting and Touching.
Psa 104:32; Psa 144:5. Hos 9:4. Jer 1:9. John 4:32; John 4:34.
Walking.
Lev 26:12; Lev 26:24; Lev 26:28. Deu 23:14 (15). 2Co 6:16.
Riding.
Deu 33:26. Psa 18:10 (11); Psa 68:33 (34). Isa 19:1.
Meeting.
Returning.
Rising up.
Num 10:35. Psa 12:5 (6); Psa 44:26 (27); Psa 68:11 (2); Psa 102:13 (14). Isa 2:19; Isa 2:21; Isa 33:10.
Passing through.
Exo 12:12; Exo 12:23. Amo 5:17.
Begetting.
Psa 2:7. Heb 1:5. So, those who believe, are said to be begotten by God. Psa 22:31 (32); Psa 87:4-6. See especially 1Jn 2:29; 1Jn 3:9, etc.
Washing.
Psa 51:2 (4). Isa 4:4. Eze 36:25.
Hiding, for protection and defence. Psa 31:20 (21) (See Metonymy); Psa 64:2 (3); Psa 91:1.
Wiping, in judgment. 2Ki 21:13 (See Polyptoton); and in mercy, Isa 25:8. Rev 7:17.
Girding.
Psa 18:32 (33); Psa 30:11 (12); Psa 45:3 (4).
Building.
Gen 2:22 (marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] ). Psa 28:5 : “Because they regard not the works (
Binding up.
Job 5:18. Psa 147:3. Isa 61:1. Hos 6:1-11 I.
Opening doors, windows, etc.
Psa 78:23. Deu 28:12. Mal 3:10.
Proving and Trying.
Psa 17:3; Psa 66:10. Zec 13:9. Mal 3:3 (compare Eze 22:18-22).
Breaking.
Psa 2:9; Psa 3:7 (8). Isa 38:13 (compare Psa 22:16 (17) under Paronomasia); Psa 45:2.
Sifting.
Blotting out.
Exo 32:32-33 (compare under Aposiopesis). Psa 51:1 (3).
Eating, or Swallowing.
Exo 15:7. Isa 25:7-8 (compare 1Co 15:54).
Enlarging.
Making a straight way.
Psa 5:8 (9). Isa 45:2; Isa 45:13 (marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] ).
Pouring out.
Psa 79:6. Eze 9:8; Eze 20:13; Eze 20:21; Eze 20:33. Hence the pouring out (i.e., giving the gifts of) the Spirit in abundant measure. Joe 2:28-29 (Joe 3:1-2). Zec 12:10. Acts 2:17-18; Acts 2:33. Rom 5:5. Tit 3:5-6.
Loosening the loins.
Wounding the head.
Breaking forth.
Shooting with arrows.
Psa 64:7 (8) (compare Psa 64:3-4 (4, 5)).
Writing.
Exo 31:18; Exo 32:16. Deu 9:10. Isa 4:3. Dan 12:1. So Jer 31:33. Heb 8:10.
Fanning.
Jer 15:7. So Mat 3:12. Luk 3:17.
Sweeping.
Cutting off the Spirit.
Psa 76:12 (13).
Anointing.
Psa 23:5; Psa 92:10 (11). 2Co 1:21.
4. Circumstances are attributed to God Circumstances are attributed to God, and may be divided into five classes:- a.Negative (when, by Anthropopatheia, He is represented as not being able to do anything), b.Positive, c.As to place, d.As to time, and e.As to person.
(a) Negative Gen 32:28 (29).-“As a prince hast thou power with God … and hast prevailed” So Hos 12:3-4 (4, 5).
Exo 32:10. “Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them.”
Isa 1:13.-“I am not able to endure” (A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] ,” I cannot away with.”) See under Ellipsis and Idioma.
Psa 106:23.-“He said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.”
Eze 23:18.-“Like as my mind was alienated from her sister.”
(b) Positive When God or Christ is spoken of as a Husbandman (i.e., by Synecdoche), or a vinedresser. See Isa 5:1-9. John 15:1-27 Mat 20:1-16, etc. As a Builder. Heb 2:4; Heb 11:10. As a Warrior. Exo 15:3. Psa 45:3-5 (4 6); Psa 46:8-9 (9, 10); Psa 76:1-12, etc. As a Counsellor. Isa 9:6 (5). As a Physician. Exo 15:26. Psa 147:3. As a Shepherd. Psa 23:1-6 Eze 34:23; Eze 37:24. Mic 5:4 (3); Mic 7:14. Zec 13:7. John 10:11. Heb 13:20. 1Pe 2:25; 1Pe 5:4. As a Father. Deu 32:6. Psa 68:5-6. Isa 64:8 (7). Mat 6:1; Mat 6:6; Mat 6:8-9. Rom 8:15. Heb 12:5-10. As a King, Prince, etc. Isa 9:6 (5); Isa 55:4; Isa 32:1; Isa 33:22, etc. As a Spouse. Mat 9:15; Mat 25:1. Mark 2:19. Luk 5:34. John 3:29. As a Witness. Isa 43:10; Isa 55:4. Jer 29:23. Mal 3:5. Rev 1:5; Rev 3:14. John 18:37.
(c) As to Place When God is spoken of being in circumstances which have to do with Place and Time as men are- Heaven is his dwelling place, 1Ki 8:39; 1Ki 8:43, etc. Psa 2:4; Psa 24:3. Isa 26:21. Mic 1:3.
He returns to his place. Hos 5:15.
He sits on a throne. Psa 11:4; Psa 47:8 (9); Psa 103:19. Isa 66:1. Jer 14:21. Mat 5:34.
Christ, also in the dignity of His human nature, is spoken of as having a throne. Psa 45:6. Isa 16:5. Mat 19:28. Heb 1:8; Heb 4:16; Heb 8:1. Rev 3:21.
Also as having a footstool-the earth. Isa 66:1. Mat 5:35, etc. The Ark of the Covenant is spoken of as His footstool. 1Ch 28:2. Psa 99:5; Psa 132:7. Lam 2:1.
Also as having all enemies under His feet. Psa 110:1. 1Co 15:25. Heb 1:13, denoting the completeness of their subjection. Psa 8:6 (7). Eph 1:22. Heb 2:8, etc. As standing afar off. Psa 10:1. As standing at the right hand of His People. Psa 16:8. Acts 2:25. As sitting upon the flood, or at the flood. Psa 29:10. As sitting upon the Cherubim. Psa 80:1 (2); Psa 99:1. As sitting upon the circle (i.e., the horizon) of the earth, and the arch of heaven, as it appears to us. Isa 40:22 : i.e., high above all. As dwelling in the sanctuary. Psa 68:17 (18). Lit., according to the primitive orthography: “The Lord hath come from Sinai into the Sanctuary.” In Zion, Psa 132:13-14; Psa 135:21. In the humble and contrite heart, Isa 57:15. With His People, Eze 37:27. John 14:23. 2Co 6:16. In the thick darkness, 1Ki 8:12. In the Shechina, Lev 16:2. Exo 13:21-22; Exo 16:10. Num 9:15. Isa 6:4. Mat 17:5.
(d) As to Time Years are attributed to God. Psa 102:24; Psa 102:27 (25, 28). (Heb 1:12). Job 36:26.
Days. Dan 7:9. Mic 5:2 (1) (see the Heb.). 2Pe 3:18 (see the Greek). Heb 13:8.
Christ is said to be the “first-born” as to time. Rom 8:29. Col 1:15; Col 1:18. Heb 1:6.* [Note: See article, “Word,” in Bullinger’s Lexicon and Concordance. Longmans.] (e) As to Circumstances connected with the person Arms are attributed to God: i.e., weapons of war. Psa 35:2-3. Isa 59:17-18. Jer 50:25; Jer 51:20.
Bow and Arrow. Psa 21:12 (13). Lam 2:4; Lam 3:12-13. Deu 32:23; Deu 32:42. Job 6:4. Psa 38:2 (3); Psa 64:7 (8). Zec 9:14. The Arrows of God. Psa 18:14 (15); Psa 144:6. Hab 3:11.
Sword. Deu 32:41. Jdg 7:20. Psa 17:13. Isa 27:1; Isa 34:5-6. Eze 21:9 (14). Zec 13:7.
Spear. Hab 3:11.
Shield or Buckler. Gen 15:1. Deu 33:29. Psa 3:3 (4); Psa 18:2 (3); Psa 28:7; Psa 84:11 (12). (See under Metaphor.) Chariots are attributed to God. Psa 68:17 (18). 2Ki 6:16-17.
Clouds are represented as His chariots. Psa 18:10-11 (11, 12); Psa 104:3. Isa 19:1.
Riches. Pro 8:18. Rom 2:4; Rom 9:23; Rom 10:12; Rom 11:33. 2Co 8:9. Eph 1:7; Eph 1:18; Eph 2:4; Eph 2:7; Eph 3:8; Eph 3:16. Col 1:27. Php 4:19. An Inheritance is attributed to God. Deu 32:9. Jer 2:7; Jer 12:7-8. A Book is attributed to God. A book of providence and of grace (Psa 139:16) which may be applied to the new birth of the members of the body of Christ. A Book of Life. Exo 32:32-33 (compare Exo 32:10). Num 11:15. Psa 56:8 (9); Psa 69:28 (29). Isa 4:3. Dan 12:1. Mal 3:16. Php 4:3. Rev 3:5; Rev 13:8; Rev 17:8; Rev 20:12; Rev 20:15; Rev 21:7. A Book of Judgment. Dan 7:10. Rev 20:12.
Oil or Anointing is attributed to God (Psa 45:7 (8). Heb 1:9) which may apply to the Holy Spirit. Isa 61:1. Acts 10:38 The word “Christ” means anointed, both in its Hebrew form
“Christians” are therefore only those who are thus anointed by the Holy Spirit. 2Co 1:21. 1Jn 2:20; 1Jn 2:27. Acts 11:26.
Bread is attributed to God. Num 28:2 (see Synecdoche). John 6:35; John 6:48. A Seal is attributed to God. Jer 22:24. Hag 2:23.
Treasure is attributed to God. In a good sense, Deu 28:12; and in judgment, Deu 32:34-35, which is referred to in Rom 2:5; Rom 2:9-10.
Out of this He brings Arms, Jer 50:25; and Winds, Psa 135:7. Jer 10:13; Jer 51:16.
Spiritual blessings are also said to be in the Divine treasuries. Isa 33:6. Mat 6:20; Mat 19:21. Mark 10:21. Luk 12:33; Luk 18:22. 2Co 4:7.
Raiment is attributed to God. Psa 93:1; Psa 104:1-2. Isa 51:9; Isa 59:17. A Banner or Flag is attributed to God. Exo 17:15 (16). Psa 60:4 (6). Song of Solomon 2:4 Isa 5:26; Isa 11:10 (12); Isa 59:19. A Rod, Staff or Sceptre is attributed to God or Christ. Psa 23:4, and, by Metonymy, is put for His power and authority. Psa 2:9; Psa 45:6 (7); Psa 110:2. Heb 1:8.
II. God is figured by an Irrational Creature
1. Animals Christ is called a Lamb. John 1:29. 1Co 5:7. 1Pe 1:19. Rev 5:6; Rev 13:8.
Christ is called a Lion. Rev 5:5.
2. The Actions of Certain Animals are attributed to God To bellow or roar. Isa 42:13, etc. Jer 25:30. Hos 11:10. Joe 3:16. Amo 1:2.
Thunder is called the voice of the Lord. Psa 29:3; Psa 29:9 : The cry of Christ is called roaring. Psa 22:1 (2) (see Heb 5:7). Psa 38:8 (9). To fly. 2Sa 22:11. Psa 18:10 (11). To brood or incubate. Gen 1:2.
3. Parts or Members of Certain Animals are attributed to God A horn. 2Sa 22:3. Psa 18:2 (3). Messiah is so called. Luk 1:69 (Hence it is used, by Metonymy, for strength and power. Psa 75:10 (11); Psa 112:9. Lam 2:3)
Wings and Feathers are attributed to God. Psa 91:4. Hence “the shadow of his wings.” denotes His care. Psa 17:8; Psa 36:7 (8); Psa 57:1; Psa 63:7 (8). And “the covert of His wings” denotes protection. Psa 61:4 (5). Compare Deu 32:11. Isa 31:5. Mat 23:37.
4. Certain Plants are used as figures of God
(a) Genus A Branch or Sprout. Isa 4:2; Isa 11:1. Jer 23:5; Jer 33:15. Zec 3:8; Zec 6:12. The Fruit of the Earth. Isa 4:2.
Wood (green or living). Luk 23:31. A Root. Isa 11:10. Rom 15:12. Rev 5:5; Rev 22:16.
(b) Species A Cedar. Eze 17:22-23. A Vine. John 15:1-5.
III. Inanimate Things are sometimes used as figures of God
1. Universals The heights of heaven. Job 11:7-8. Eph 3:18.
Magnitude or greatness is attributed to God. Exo 15:16; Exo 18:11. Num 14:19. Deu 3:24. Ezr 5:8. Psa 48:1 (2); Psa 47:2 (3). Jer 32:17-19. Dan 2:45. Mal 1:14, etc.
Comparison is used of God.
Greater than man. Job 33:12.
Greater than our heart. 1Jn 3:20.
Greater than all. John 10:20.
Multitude or fulness is attributed to God. Psa 86:15; Psa 103:8; Psa 130:7. In spite of all this condescension, it is impossible to convey to human understanding, the greatness, vastness, illimitable perfection and infinity of God. Psa 36:5-8 (6-9). Rom 11:33. 1Co 2:10, etc.
2. Particulars
God is spoken of as Light. 1Jn 1:5. It would require a volume to investigate and carry out all that is taught by this wondrous Metaphor. First, we should have to understand what Light itself is, and science was never more baffled than to-day in defining it or explaining it. So is God incomprehensible. A little while ago they thought they knew. Professor Röntgen has now shown that they do not yet know.
Lights. Jas 1:17. “The Father of lights”: i.e., the source, not only of light itself, but of all light producers and light-bearers and light givers: viz., the sun, moon, stars, planets, and all the fountains of light contained in earthly substances producing electricity, gas, and light of all kinds.
Psa 27:1.-“The Lord is my light”: i.e., the source and origin of my life and grace and salvation, etc., etc. Compare Num 6:25. Psa 36:9 (10); Psa 43:3, etc.
3. Certain Elements are used as emblems of God
God is spoken of as a Fire. Deu 4:24; Deu 9:3; Deu 32:27. Isa 10:17. Hence the smoke of fire denotes His anger. Psa 74:1; Psa 80:4 (5) (margin). Deu 29:20.
God is spoken of as a Lamp. 2Sa 22:29. Psa 18:28 (29). Hence His word is so called. Psa 119:105. Pro 6:23. 2Pe 1:19.
God is spoken of as Air or Wind, and breath is attributed to Him. Job 4:9. Psa 18:15 (16). Isa 30:33.
God is spoken of as Water. Jer 2:13; Jer 17:13. Psa 36:8-9 (9, 10). John 7:37-39. The gift of the Holy Spirit pertains to this figure. Isa 44:3. Joe 2:28-29 (Joe 3:1-2). Zec 12:10. Acts 2:17-18; Acts 2:33. Tit 3:5-6. The blessings and merits of Christ are called the water of life. John 4:10; John 4:14. Compare Isa 55:1. Eze 36:25. Zec 14:8.
God is figured by things which pertain to the EARTH. A Stone. Psa 118:22. Mat 21:42. Acts 4:11. 1Pe 2:7. A corner-stone, Eph 2:20-21; and foundation and stumbling stone, Isa 8:14; Isa 28:16. Zec 3:9. Luk 2:34. Rom 9:32-33. 1Pe 2:4; 1Pe 2:6-8. A rock (in situ). Deu 32:31. Psa 18:2 (3); Psa 31:2-3 (3, 4); Psa 42:9; Psa 73:26 (margin). Isa 26:4 (margin). So Christ is thus spoken of Mat 16:18. (See under Paregmenon and Syllepsis).
So, in relation to the earth, God is spoken of as A hiding-place, etc. Psa 91:1; Psa 119:114. Isa 4:6. A fortress. Psa 31:2-3 (3, 4); Psa 71:3; Psa 91:2; Psa 144:2. Zec 2:5. A tower of strength. Psa 61:3 (4). Pro 18:10. 2Sa 22:51. A Temple, Rev 21:22; and Christ is the Way thither, John 14:6. A Shade or Shadow. Psa 121:5. Psa 91:1. Isa 51:16; Isa 49:2. Compare Luk 1:32; Luk 1:34-35. This shadow is called the “back-parts.”, Compare Exo 33:20-23.
-------- Antimetathesis; or, Dialogue A Transference of Speakers
An-ti-me-tath´-e-sis, from
Hence the figure is called also POLYPROSOPON, pol´-y-pros-ō´-pon, from
Sometimes the address is simple; sometimes it is continued, in which case it is called a Dialogue. In Rom 2:1-29 the Gentile is personified, and by Antimetathesis is addressed personally instead of being described as in Rom 1:1-32.
“Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest” (Rom 2:1, etc.).
Then, after describing and defining a true Jew, and distinguishing him from one who is not, we have apparently a dialogue in chapter 3, as Macknight has pointed out. Thus:- Jew. “What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?”
Apostle. “Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.”
Jew. “But what if some have not believed? Will not their unbelief make void the faithfulness of God [who promised to be the God of Abraham’s seed]?”
Apostle. “Far be it: No, let God prove true [to His covenant], though every man be a liar [in denying that Jesus is the Messiah]: as it is written, ‘That thou mayest be justified in thy words [of threatening] and mayest overcome when on thy trial.’ ”
Jew. “But if our unrighteousness [in rejecting Christ] establisheth the righteousness of God [in casting us off], what shall we say? God is not unrighteous who visiteth us with his anger, is He? (I say this in the character of an unbeliever).”
Apostle. “By no means: otherwise how shall God judge the world?”
Jew. “[This is hardly satisfactory]; for, if the truth of God [in visiting His nation with His wrath] hath redounded unto His glory through my lie [in affirming that Jesus is not the Messiah], why am I also [as an individual] still further judged as a sinner?”
Apostle. “And why not add, (as we are slanderously reported to practise, and as some affirm that we say), ‘Let us do evil that good may come’? Of these the condemnation is just.”
Jew. “Well, then; Do we Jews excel the Gentiles?”
Apostle. “Not at all; for we have already proved both Jews (Rom 2:21-24) and Gentiles (Rom 1:18-32) to be all under sin. Even as it standeth written (in various Scriptures, which are selected and quoted from Psa 53:1-3; Psa 14:1-3, etc.).”
Thus the figure Antimetathesis, or Dialogue, helps to clear the sense and to indicate the manner in which certain words and expressions should be translated.
Rom 11:18.-“Boast not against the branches. But, if thou boastest [know thou that] thou bearest not the root, but the root [beareth] thee.”
Here the apostle is addressing “you Gentiles” as such: not the saints of God.
Rom 11:19.-“Thou wilt plead then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.” This was true as to the effect, but not as to the cause. It was what a Gentile, as such, would say, but not what the Holy Spirit said. No! On the contrary, it was “Because of unbelief they were broken off.” And so he goes on to speak of the Gentiles by Antimetathesis, greatly enhancing and intensifying the argument.
Rom 14:15.-“But, if thy brother is grieved with thy meat.” Here, the change of persons emphasises the point that it is “thy brother” in Christ. Not merely a fellow-man, but thy brother’s Christian conscience, which is stumbled at thy eating that which has been offered to idols.
1Co 7:16.-Here, the individual husband and wife are singled out and addressed, as though they were present.
1Co 15:35.-Here, an objector is singled out: perhaps the actual words of a known person are quoted and dealt with.
-------- Association; or, Inclusion When the Writer or Speaker associates himself with those whom he addresses This name is given to the Figure because the writer or speaker turns, and (1) includes himself in what he says for others: (2) or, vice versa, includes others in what he says of himself; (3) or, includes many in what he says of one.
We have examples in
Acts 17:27.-“That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us.”
Eph 2:1-3.-“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past,” etc.
Tit 3:1-3.-After speaking of the exhortations to be given to others, the apostle includes himself when he comes to speak of the state and condition of every sinner by nature. “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish,” etc.
Heb 3:6.-“But Christ as a son over his own house: whose house are we.”
Heb 10:25.-“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is.”
Sometimes this turning to include others is only apparent. That is to say, there may be a change from the immediate context, but not from the real continuation as shown by the structure.
See Heb 1:1-14 and Heb 2:1-18 :- AHeb 1:1-2. God speaking to “us.”
B Heb 1:2-14. The Son (God) “better than the angels” (“them”).
A Heb 2:1-4. God speaking to “us.”
B Heb 2:5-18. The Son (man) “lower than the angels” (“them”).
Here Heb 2:1 is the real continuation of Heb 1:2, and not of Heb 1:14; while Heb 2:5 is the real continuation of Heb 1:14, and not of Heb 2:4. So that the change of persons here is only apparent, and does not arise from the Figure Association.
3. As To Subject-Matter
--------
Apostrophe A Turning Aside from the direct Subject-Matter to address others
A-pos´-tro-phe. Greek,
It is called also PROSPHONESIS (
Also by the Latins, AVERSIO, aversion, or a turning from. The examples of the use of this figure may be arranged as follows:- APOSTROPHE Addressed I.To God. II.To Men.
1. Definite.
2. One’s self.
3. Indefinite.
4. In prophecies.
III.To Animals. IV.To Inanimate Things.
I. Apostrophe to God
Neh 4:4 (3:36).-Nehemiah turns from his description of the opposition of his enemies to address God (by Apostrophe) in prayer: “Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head,” etc.
There is another beautiful and sudden Apostrophe in
Neh 6:9.-“For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now, therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.”
Psa 33:1-22 -After addressing us concerning God in the third person, the Psalmist suddenly turns away, and concludes (Psa 33:22) with a brief Apostrophe addressed to God, “Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.”
Psa 82:1-8 -After speaking of God (Psa 82:8) and the wickedness of man (Psa 82:1-7), he suddenly concludes with the Apostrophe, “Arise, O God, judge the earth; for thou shalt inherit all nations.”
Psa 104:24.-After enlarging on the wonderful works of God, he exclaims, “O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.”
Psa 109:1-31 -After describing how his enemies had rewarded him evil for good, and spoken evil against him (Psa 109:6-20), he suddenly turns aside in Psa 109:21, and prays, “But do thou for me, O God the Lord (Jehovah Adonai), for thy name’s sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me,” etc.
II. Apostrophe to Men: either Living or Dead 1. To certain definite persons
2Sa 1:24-25.-In David’s lament over Saul and Jonathan, he suddenly turns, and, (in 2Sa 1:24), addresses the daughters of Israel. And in 2Sa 1:25 he turns from these to dead Jonathan.
2Sa 7:23.-In the midst of David’s beautiful prayer, he suddenly turns from addressing Jehovah as to what He had done, and speaks to the people “to do for you great things and terrible.”
Psa 2:10-12.-After speaking of what God will do, the Psalmist suddenly turns, and addresses the kings and judges of the earth (Psa 2:10-12).
Psa 6:8 (9).-He turns from his prayer in trouble to address those who had brought the trouble upon him. “Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity,” etc.
Isa 1:4-5.-The prophet turns from the third person to the second,” they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. “Why should ye be stricken any more?” etc.
Jer 5:10 is an Apostrophe, addressed to the enemy who should fulfil the prophecy which was being delivered.
Jer 11:1-23 -After prophesying the evils to come upon the houses of Israel and Judah, he breaks off in Jer 11:18, and speaks of himself, “And the Lord hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then thou shewedst me their doings.”
Acts 15:10.-After speaking to the apostles and elders as to what God had been doing, Peter suddenly turns and addresses them as to what they proposed to do.
Rom 11:13-14.-He turns and addresses “you Gentiles” in the midst of his revelation concerning the past and future of Israel.
Jas 4:1-17 -He has been addressing the poor and oppressed: but, in verses 1-6 he turns away, and apostrophizes the rich oppressors, returning to his former subject in Jas 4:7.
2. To one’s own self This is done by the common Hebrew idiom, by which one’s “soul” is put (by Synecdoche) for one’s self.
Psa 42:5; Psa 42:11 (6, 12).-“Why art thou cast down, O my soul.”
See also under Cycloides, Heterosis, and Synecdoche.
Psa 103:1; Psa 103:22.-“Bless the Lord, O my soul.” So Psa 104:1; Psa 146:1, etc.
3. To some second person or persons indefinite (put, by Synecdoche, for anyone)
Psa 27:14.-After prayer to God for himself, David turns and addresses anyone who is in like circumstances, and exhorts him. “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.”
See also under Epanadiplosis.
Psa 34:12 (13).-He suddenly turns from the plural to the singular, and addresses some undefined individual: “Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile,” etc.
Gal 6:1.-“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; [now comes the Apostrophe, to some, or rather each, individual] considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”
See also Rom 2:17 (“thou”); Rom 9:19 (“Thou”), Rom 9:20 (“O man”); Rom 12:20 (“thine”); Rom 13:3 (“thou”); Rom 14:4 (“thou”), 10 (“thou”). 1Co 7:16 (“O wife,” “O man”). See under Antimetathesis and Metonymy. Gal 4:7 (“thou”).
4. In Prophecies In certain solemn prophecies, the Prophet is told what to say directly (instead of indirectly or obliquely).
Isa 6:9.-“And he said, Go, and tell this people, ‘Hear ye indeed, but understand not,’ ” etc.
(See under Polyptoton, and compare Mat 13:14. Acts 28:26-27, etc.) Isa 23:16.-Tyre is addressed as a person, after a prophecy concerning the city.
See also Isa 47:1.
III. Apostrophe to Animals Psa 148:7 (dragons), Psa 148:1- (beasts).
Joe 2:22.-“Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field,” etc.
IV. Apostrophe to Inanimate Things Deu 32:1.-“Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak: and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.”
Thus solemnly and emphatically opens this “Song of Moses” (which describes the whole history of Israel from the beginning to the end) and call us to give our attention to it and to consider it. As every Israelite was expected to learn and study it (see Deu 32:44-47) its importance to the interpreter of prophecy must be very great indeed. It is the key to Israel’s history-past, present, and future. Its structure may be seen under Correspondence (page 375).
2Sa 1:21.-“Ye mountains of Gilboa.”
1Ki 13:2.-“And he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord, etc.”
Psa 114:5.-“What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back? Ye mountains that ye skipped like rams? and ye little hills, like lambs? Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord (Adon), at the presence of the God (Eloah) of Jacob.”
Psa 148:3-5.-“Praise ye him, sun and moon; praise him, all ye stars of light. Praise Him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens,” etc.
Isa 1:2.-“Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord hath spoken.”
These words were chosen for, and invariably put in, the title-page of the early printed editions of the English Bible.
Jer 2:12.-“Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this,” etc.
Jer 22:29.-“O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord.” See Epizeuxis.
Jer 47:6.-“O thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet?” See Eze 21:16.
Eze 13:11.-After saying that an overflowing storm shall burst upon the work of the false prophets, he turns away and addresses the hailstones. “And ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.”
Eze 36:4; Eze 36:8.-“Ye mountains of Israel,” compare verse 1.
Hos 13:14.-“O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction.” See 1Co 15:55.
Joe 2:1-32 -After prophesying concerning the land, he turns away and addresses it in Joe 2:21. “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.”
Mic 6:2.-“Hear ye, O mountains, the Lord’s controversy,” etc.
Zec 11:1.-“Open thy doors, O Lebanon,” etc.
Zec 11:1.-“Howl, fir-tree”; etc. “howl, O ye oaks of Bashan.”
-------- Parecbasis; or, Digression A temporary Turning Aside from one Subject to another
Par-ek´-ba-sis. Greek,
ECBOLE. Greek,
APHODOS. Greek,
It is more than a mere Parenthesis (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ): being a digression to quite a different subject. A parenthesis is really part of the same subject, but Parecbasis is a stepping aside to another.
Gen 2:8-15, is a Parecbasis: i.e., a digression, or change of subject-matter, by which the provision made by God for man’s habitation is described. The original subject is then resumed in Gen 2:16, from Gen 2:7.
Gen 36:1-43 is a Parecbasis, a turning aside from “the generations of Isaac” (Gen 25:19-34; Gen 26:1-35; Gen 27:1-46; Gen 28:1-22; Gen 29:1-35; Gen 30:1-43; Gen 31:1-55; Gen 32:1-32; Gen 33:1-20; Gen 34:1-31; Gen 35:1-29) to “the generations of Esau” (Gen 36:1-8), and “the generations of Esau, in Mount Seir,” etc. (Gen 36:9-43) before continuing “the generations of Jacob” in Gen 37:1-36.
Gen 38:1-30 is a Parecbasis, a stepping aside from the history of Joseph in order to introduce an episode in the life of Judah. So that Joseph’s life, which began in Gen 37:1-36, is not resumed till Gen 39:1-23.
Rom 1:1-32 -The opening verses of this Epistle form a beautiful Parecbasis. It is caused by the structure of the Epistle: in which Rom 1:2-6 has for its subject “God’s Gospel,” which was never hidden, but was always revealed (corresponding with Rom 16:25-27, the subject of which is “the Mystery,” which was never revealed, but always hidden).
Rom 1:1 is, therefore, properly part of the epistolary subject, which is resumed in Rom 1:7 and continued to Rom 1:15 (corresponding with the Epistolary portion at the end, 15:15-16:24): and Rom 1:2-6 is, therefore, a Parecbasis, and is thus made to correspond with the closing Rom 16:25-27* [Note: See the structure of the whole Epistle under Correspondence (page 385).] ; while Rom 1:7 is the continuation of Rom 1:1, and not of Rom 1:6.
Such digressions as this often arise out of, and form part of, the Structures or Correspondences of which the Scripture is made up: and the figure Parecbasis must be studied in connection with them.
-------- Metabasis; or, Transition A passing from one subject to another
Me-tab´-a-sis. Greek,
Hence, called by the Latins, TRANSITIO, transition, and INTERFACTIO, a doing or putting a thing in between, as in passing from one thing to another. The figure is used when the speaker or writer passes from one thing to another by reminding his hearers or readers of what has been said, and only hinting at what might be said, or remains to be said.
Sometimes, however, it is used of an abrupt transition.
1Co 11:16-17.-In 1Co 11:16, Paul only hints at the contentions of others; and then passes on, in 1Co 11:17 to the subject of the Lord’s Supper.
1Co 12:31.-Having hinted at the best spiritual gifts, Paul suddenly makes the transition to one which is more excellent than all: viz., Divine love, which becomes the subject of chapter xiii.
1Co 15:1-58 -The apostle hints at the subject matter of his former preaching among the Corinthians; but, in 1Co 15:12, he passes on to discuss the great subject of the resurrection of the dead.
Heb 6:1-3.-In Heb 6:1, the “first principles” are mentioned; and, these having been briefly hinted at, the transition is at once made to the subject in hand.
-------- Epanorthosis; or, Correction A Recalling of what has been said, in order to correct it as by an Afterthought
Ep´-a-nor-thō-sis. Greek,
Hence Epanorthosis means a setting upright again. The figure is so called when a writer or speaker has said something, and immediately recalls it in order to substitute something better, or stronger, or weightier, in its place, thus correcting what has been said. Hence the Latins called this figure CORRECTIO, correction. The Greeks had other names for it, owing to its beauty and power, and also to the frequency of its employment. They called it
DIORTHOSIS (di-or-thō´-sis), from
EPIDIORTHOSIS (ep´-i-di-or-thō´-sis). The above name with
METANŒA (met´-a-nœ-a), an after-thought, from
Epanorthosis is of three kinds:
1. Where the retraction is absolute.
2. Where it is partial or relative.
3. Where it is conditional.
1. Where the Retraction is Absolute
Mark 9:24.-“Lord, I believe; [but, remembering his weakness, the speaker immediately corrects this great profession of faith, and says] help thou mine unbelief.”
John 12:27.-The Lord Jesus prays as perfect man, “Father, save me from this hour: [and then, remembering, as perfect God, the work which He had come to do, He adds] but for this cause came I unto this hour.”
See under Metonymy.
Rom 14:4.-“Who art thou* [Note: See under Apostrophe.] that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. [And then, remembering the blessed fact of the security of such an one, and the provision made for all his need, the Apostle adds] Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.”
2. Where it is Partial or Relative This phase of the figure has been called COLLATIO, Collation.
Pro 6:16.-“These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him.” See Pro 30:15, Pro 30:18.
Mat 11:9.-“But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? (and then, as though correcting it and them, the Lord adds), yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.”
John 16:32.-“Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own home.” (See A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] margin.) Then another Epanorthosis immediately follows:-
“and shall leave me alone; [with respect to men, but not with respect to God. Therefore we have the Epanorthosis], and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.”
Acts 26:27.-“King Agrippa, believest thou the prophet? I know that thou believest.”
1Co 7:10.-“And unto the married I command: yet not I but the Lord.”
See also under Zeugma.
1Co 15:10.-“I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
Gal 1:6.-“I marvel that ye are so soon removed … unto another (
Gal 2:20.-“Nevertheless I live: yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.”
See under Zeugma, Epanadiplosis, and Polyptoton.
Gal 4:9.-“But now, after that ye have known God: or rather are known of God.”
2Ti 4:8.-“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: [then comes a beautiful Epanorthosis] and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
1Jn 2:2.-“And he is the propitiation for our sins: [then comes the Epanorthosis, pointing out that He was the Propitiation for Gentiles as well as Jews, so John adds], and not for our’s only, but also for the whole world.”
See especially under Synecdoche and Metonymy.
3. Where it is Conditional Gal 3:4.-“Have ye suffered so many things in vain?-If it be yet in vain.”
-------- Amphidiorthosis; or, Double Correction A setting both Hearer and Speaker right by a Correction which acts both ways
Am´-phi-di-or-thō´-sis. From
Some have confounded these two figures, but this is the distinction between them.
1Ki 14:14.-“… that day: but what? even now”; as if the prophet meant (being led of the Spirit) to say, first, “that day”; and then to add shock upon shock by going on, “But what am I saying? ‘that day?’ even now.”
See also under Ellipsis and Aposiopesis.
1Co 11:22.-“What am I to say to you? Commend you herein? No, indeed.”
-------- Anachoresis; or, Regression A Return to the Original Subject after a Digression
An-a-cho´-ree-sis. Greek,
See Eph 3:14, where the subject commenced in Eph 3:1 is resumed.
Rom 1:7, where the subject (the salutation) commenced in Rom 1:1 is resumed.
Further examples will easily be found by the observant reader.
-------- Prolepsis (Ampliatio); or, Anticipation An Anticipation of some future Time which cannot yet be enjoyed: but has to be deferred Pro-leep-sis. Greek,
Whereas Prolepsis-when it anticipates time which it cannot hold or keep possession of, but has to defer it, after having anticipated it-is distinguished from the other by the word “Ampliatio,” which means an adjourning.
God Himself used the figure in Gen 1:28, when he spoke to both our first parents as then already present, though the building of Eve did not take place till the time spoken of in Gen 2:20-23.
Exo 10:29 is proleptic of the final departure of Moses from Pharaoh; as Moses did speak to him again. See Exo 11:4-8.
1Ki 22:50 (51).-Jehoshaphat’s death is spoken of proleptically. See 2Ki 3:1-27
Isa 37:22 beautifully speaks of the then future rejoicing of Jerusalem at her deliverance from Sennacherib, as already present: “The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn”; etc.
Isa 48:5-7.-Jehovah describes how He had from the beginning spoken of future things in this way, and why He had done so.
Luk 3:19-20.-The imprisonment of John is recorded by Prolepsis. Compare Mat 11:2, etc.
Heb 2:8.-“Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet.” This is said by Prolepsis, as it is distinctly declared that “We see not yet all things put under him.” In like manner we are to understand those Psalms which are written for use in millennial days; especially those commencing “the Lord reigneth.” The Lord does not now reign in the special sense and manner definitely spoken of and described in these and similar Psalms. We use them now (by way of application and) by Anticipation or Prolepsis. But the day is coming when they will be used literally, and be true by a real interpretation to the very letter.
There are three Psalms that commence “The Lord reigneth”: viz., Psa 93:1-5, Psa 97:1-12, and Psa 99:1-9; and it is remarkable that they each end with a reference to holiness. This is because, when the Lord does actually reign, as here described, all will be holy. His name will be “hallowed” on earth as it is in heaven. “In that day shall there be upon the bells (or bridles) of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts” (Zec 14:20-21). And it is written in Isa 23:18 : “Her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord.” This is why also, the four living creatures who call for judgments (Rev 6:1-17) which shall issue in the Lord’s reign on earth, do so with the three-fold cry of these three Psalms. “Holy, holy, holy” (Rev 4:8). This is why their cry is foretold in Isa 6:3 in connection with Adonai upon his “throne, high and lifted up” (Isa 6:1). The songs and words of the Apocalypse, though then (and for the most part, if not all, now) future, are spoken of as present. In other words they are proleptic, being given to us under the figure Prolepsis.
Only by the use of this figure can we sing many of the hymns which are put into our mouths, when they speak of future heavenly realities as though resurrection had already taken place; which it has not.
5. As to Feeling
-------- PathopœIa; or, Pathos The Expression of Feeling or Emotion
Path´-o-pœ-i-a. Greek,
It is of four kinds:- Two arising out of pleasure: love and joy. And Two arising out of pain: hatred and sorrow.
Examples, which are too many and too long to be quoted in full, may be found in Isa 22:4; Isa 49:15. Jer 9:1-2; Jer 23:9-10; Jer 31:20. Hos 11:8-9. Mark 3:5; Mark 7:34; Mark 10:14; Mark 10:21. Luk 19:41-42. Acts 7:54; Acts 7:57. 2Co 2:4. Gal 4:19-20. 2Ti 1:16-18.
-------- Asteïsmos; or, Urbanity An Expression of Feeling by way of Politeness
As-te-is´-mos. Greek,
It is from
It is used as a change involving the application of words by way of expression of feeling.
Sometimes Asteïsmos is used as an addition affecting the sense of words by way of reasoning. For this, see page 488.
-------- Anamnesis; or, Recalling An Expression of Feeling by Way of Recalling to Mind
An´-am-nee´-sis. Greek,
It is a very effective method of emphasising what we wish to impress on another. The Latins called it RECOLLECTIO, recollection.
Rom 9:3 is an interesting example; which has been already referred to under Epitrechon and Hyperbole (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ).
We should note that the verb is in the imperfect tense
It occurs as the opening of the Dispensational part of the Epistle to the Romans. See under Correspondence.
-------- Benedictio; or, Blessing An Expression of Feeling by Way of Benediction or Blessing Ben´-e-dic´-ti-o. English, benediction: and it means both the act of blessing, and the blessing itself. The latter is called a beatitude or blessing. A large field of study is here opened out before us. It is unnecessary for us to exhaust it. The student will find much spoil in searching out and classifying the various blessings and beatitudes which come under this figure.
See, for example, Deu 28:3-6. Ecc 10:17. Isa 30:18. Eph 1:3.
Then they may be considered collectively. The three blessings at the creation. Gen 1:22; Gen 1:28; Gen 2:3. The blessings in the book of Psalms (Psa 1:1; Psa 2:12; Psa 32:1-2; Psa 33:12; Psa 34:8 (9); Psa 40:4 (5); Psa 41:1 (2); Psa 65:4 (5); Psa 84:4-5, Psa 84:12 (5, 6, 13); Psa 89:15 (16); Psa 94:12; Psa 106:3; Psa 112:1; Psa 119:1-2; Psa 127:5; Psa 128:1 (2); Psa 137:8-9; Psa 144:14-15; Psa 146:5). The seven blessings in the Apocalypse. Rev 1:3; Rev 14:13; Rev 16:15; Rev 19:9; Rev 20:6; Rev 22:7; Rev 22:14.
-------- Euche; or, Prayer An Expression of Feeling by way of Prayer, Curse, or Imprecation Eu´-chee. Greek,
See Deu 28:67. Isa 64:1-2 (Isa 63:19; Isa 64:1). Acts 26:29. Rom 9:3. The subject to which this figure introduces us may be treated of quite separately: as the prayer may be introduced as an ejaculation, as a parenthesis, or as an addition or conclusion, etc.
Psa 118:25.-“Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.”
-------- Paræneticon; or, Exhortation An Expression of Feeling by way of Exhortation
Par´-œ-net´-i-con. Greek,
-------- Œonismos; or, Wishing An Expression of Feeling by way of wishing or hoping for a thing
Œ´-ō-nis´-mos. Greek,
See Deu 32:29 : “O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!”
Psa 55:6. (7).-“Oh! that I had wings like a dove!”
Psa 81:13 (14).-“Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!” etc.
Isa 48:18.-“O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.”
Isa 64:1 (Isa 63:19).-“Oh that thou would rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence.” See also under Euche.
There are many examples, which the Bible student will call to mind or search out for himself.
Gal 5:12.-“I would that they were even cut off which trouble you.”
-------- Thaumasmos; or, Wondering An Expression of Feeling by way of Wonder
Thau-mas´-mos. Greek,
Num 24:5.-“How goodly thy tents, O Jacob.”
Mat 8:10.-“When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”
Rom 11:33.-“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” This is a proper Ecphonesis, except that it expresses wonder and astonishment, so that it is combined with Thaumasmos.
Gal 1:6.-“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another (
See under Correspondence (the order of the seven Pauline Epistles).
-------- Pæanismos; or, Exultation An Expression of Feeling by calling on Others to Rejoice
Pœ-an´-is´-mos. Greek,
Deu 32:43.-The song of Moses, having commenced with an Apostrophe (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ), and carried us through the whole history of Israel (see under Correspondence, page 375), ends with a glorious and triumphant Pœanismos, in which Jehovah calls on all the nations to rejoice with His People for His judgment on their enemies, and the cleansing of His People and His land: thus carrying us right on to the glory of millennial days. The fourth book of the Psalms anticipates this time of rest and peace for the earth. Hence all are called on to rejoice now (by Prolepsis) in view of that glorious time.
A Psa 95:1-11. Exhortation for His People and sheep (Psa 95:1), “to come before His presence with thanksgiving” (Psa 95:2). For the Lord is “great” (Psa 95:3).
BaPsa 96:1-13. A summons to sing the “New Song,” “for he cometh.” bPsa 97:1-12. The New Song, “The Lord Reigneth.”
BaPsa 98:1-9. A summons to sing the “New Song” “for he cometh.” bPsa 99:1-9. The New Song, “The Lord Reigneth.”
A Psa 100:1-5. Exhortation for His People and sheep (Psa 100:3), to “come before his presence with singing” (Psa 100:2), for the Lord is “good” (Psa 100:5).
Isa 44:23.-“Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it, Shout,” etc.
Zep 3:14.-“Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.”
Then follows the reason to the end of the prophecy.
Zec 9:9.-“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold thy King cometh unto thee:” etc.
Luk 10:21.-“In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.”
See under Catachresis.
Php 4:4.-“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.”
See under Epanadiplosis.
Jas 1:9.-“Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted.” The Scriptures abound with beautiful examples. See Psa 57:8 (9), Isa 42:10; Isa 49:13. Jer 51:48. Rev 18:20, etc.
-------- Asterismos; or, Indicating The Calling Attention to by making a Star or Mark
As´-ter-is´-mos. Greek,
“Behold” seems to be specially the word used by the Holy Spirit as the Inspirer of Scripture: while “Verily” (amen) is the word used by the Lord Jesus; and “Yea” is the word of God the Father.
Psa 133:1.-“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”
-------- Ecphonesis; or, Exclamation An Expression of Feeling by way of Exclamation
Ec´-phō-nee´-sis. Greek,
It was called also ANAPHONESIS, an´-a-phō´-nee´-sis, the same word, with
Jos 7:7.-“And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God (Adonai Jehovah), wherefore hast thou at all brought up this people over Jordan,” etc.
1Ch 11:17.-“And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, that is at the gate!” This would come also under the figure Œonismos (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ).
Psa 22:1 (2).-“My God (Eli), my God (Eli), why hast thou for saken me?” (Mat 27:46. Mark 15:34). See under Epizeuxis.
Psa 57:7 (8) is also a beautiful Ecphonesis.
Psa 84:1 (2).-“How amiable (i.e., How lovely, or How delightful) are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts,” etc.
Isa 1:4.-“Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that are corrupters.”
See under Synonymia and Anabasis.
Isa 6:5.-“Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone”; etc. This is the true Ecphonesis of a convicted soul. A confession, not of what he has done, but of what he IS; as to nature, condition, and deserts. Of such an exclamation the result is ever (as recorded in the next verse) “THEN flew,” etc.
Eze 9:8.-“I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord God (Adonai Jehovah)!” etc.
Hos 13:9.-“O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.”
Mat 15:28.-“Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.”
Mat 17:17.-“Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation,” etc.
Acts 7:51 is also an Ecphonesis.
Rom 7:24.-“O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death?” (marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] ). See Hypallage, Ellipsis and Metonymy. This is a true Ecphonesis; but, as concluding the whole of the chapter, it is also in that respect a kind of Epiphonema (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ). This verse expresses the continuous experience of every true child of God, who understands the conflict between the two natures:-the old man and the new man: the flesh and the spirit, the old nature and the Divine nature implanted within him by the Holy Spirit. This conflict is the one thing of which a merely religious person is destitute. It is the one thing that cannot be imitated by the hypocrite. He never has an abiding sense of inward corruption and of the conflict with it; because he has not the New nature by which alone it is manifested and brought to light. He has no standard within him to detect it, or by which to try it.
Until the truth of the abiding conflict between the two natures is seen no spiritual peace can be enjoyed. The fruits of the old tree are dealt with in the former portion of this Doctrinal part of the Epistle (Rom 1:16-32; Rom 2:1-29; Rom 3:1-31; Rom 4:1-25; Rom 5:1-11): and then the old tree itself is dealt with in chap. 5:12 to 8:39, and is shown to be (in God’s sight) as dead, having been crucified with Christ. Thus, the conflict goes on till this body of death (i.e., until this dying body). either dies, or is “changed” at Christ’s appearing.
Then the longing desire will be realised, and faith will be rewarded, as expressed in the words that follow, where the Ellipsis must be supplied:-“I thank God-He will deliver me-[and reckoning myself even now as already having died with Christ (Rom 6:11)-I thank God, that He will deliver me] through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
-------- Aporia; or, Doubt An Expression of Feeling by way of Doubt
A-pō´-ri-a. Greek,
It was also called DIAPORESIS (Di´-a-po-ree´-sis). Greek,
Hos 6:4.-“O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee?”
See under Erotesis.
Hos 11:8.-“How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel?” etc.
See under Anthropopatheia.
Mat 21:25-26.-“The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.”
Luk 16:3.-“Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.”
-------- Epitimesis; or, Reprimand An Expression of Feeling by way of Censure, Reproof, or Reproach
Ep´-i-ti-mee´-sis. Greek,
It is also called EPIPLEXIS, ep´-i-pleex´-is. Greek,
Seeing that God’s ways and thoughts are the opposite of man’s, it is impossible that God should speak to man without many rebukes and reproaches.
These are of various kinds; and some have their own special names, as will be seen below.
We give merely one or two by way of example, and as showing what we may learn from them.
Luk 9:55.-“He turned, and rebuked them (James and John), and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.” etc.
Luk 24:25.-“Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.” This was the rebuke for Jewish disciples, but Christians to-day need it as much: for both believe and receive some Scriptures, but not “ALL.” The Jews received the passages which spoke of Christ’s “glory,” but rejected those that told of His “sufferings”: and Christians to-day are guilty of the opposite folly. The Jews thought the Lord Jesus was not good enough for the world, and so they cast Him out. Christians, to-day, think they have not yet made the world good enough for Christ, and so would fain keep Him out.
Both take a part of the truth, and put it for the whole; and both, therefore, come under this solemn rebuke. The correction for the folly of both is given in the words which follow, “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, AND to enter into his glory?” The Jews thought the former humiliating; and Christians call the latter “carnal”: and so Jews reject the Scriptures which testify of the sufferings, and Christians neglect the Prophecies which speak of Christ’s coming glories. The Holy Spirit saith (2Pe 1:19), concerning these prophecies, ‘The world is a dark place; and ye do well to take heed to the only light in it.’ Christians, to-day, say that prophecy is a dark place, and ye do well to avoid it!
Rom 9:20.-“Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?” etc. See this passage also under Apostrophe and Prosopopœia.
-------- Eleutheria; or, Candour An Expression of Feeling by way of bold Freedom of Speech in Reprehension
El-eu´-ther-i´-a. Greek,
Eleutheria is therefore the bold reprehension of free speech.
It is called PARRHESIA (Par-rhee´-si-a). Greek,
Luk 13:32.-“Go ye, and tell that fox,” was a very frank and fearless message to Herod.
John 8:44.-“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.” etc.
See under Idiom and Metonymy.
1Jn 3:10.-“In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil.” This is free-speaking indeed; too free for the false toleration and charity-mongering of the present day; but these are the words of the God of love, through John the apostle of love. The following places where the word Parrhesia is used in the New Testament will furnish many interesting examples. The word is translated:
“Boldness of speech,” 2Co 7:4.
“Plainness of speech,” 2 Cot. 3:12 (marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] boldness).
“Boldness,” Acts 4:13; Acts 4:29; Acts 4:31. Eph 3:12. Php 1:20. 1Ti 3:13. Heb 10:19 (marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] liberty). 1Jn 4:17.
“Be much bold,” Phm 1:8 (
“With … confidence,” Acts 28:31. Heb 3:6; Heb 10:35. 1Jn 2:28; 1Jn 3:21; 1Jn 5:14.
Dative: “Boldly,” John 7:26. “Openly,” Mark 8:32. John 7:13; John 11:14; John 16:25; John 16:29. With
-------- Aganactesis; or, Indignation An Expression of Feeling by way of Indignation
Ag´-an-ak-tee´-sis. Greek,
See Gen 3:13; Gen 4:10; Gen 20:9; Gen 31:26.
Acts 13:10.-Here we have a forcible example of Paul’s indignation at the opposition of Elymas the Sorcerer.
-------- Apodioxis; or, Detestation An Expression of Feeling by way of Detestation
Ap´-o-di-ōx´-is. Greek,
Psa 50:16.-“But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?”
Isa 1:12-15 is a solemn expression of Jehovah’s detestation of religion, per se, such as existed among, and was manifested by, the Jews at Christ’s first coming. This passage describes the most minute attention to every religious observance, which only heightens the indignation with which the Lord repudiates it all, because it does not proceed from the heart.
See this passage also under Ellipsis, Anthropopatheia, Synathrœsmus, and Hypotyposis.
Jer 9:2 (1).-We have Jeremiah’s detestation of Israel’s idolatry.
Mat 4:10.-“Get thee hence, Satan:” etc.
Mat 16:23.-“He … said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God.” The fact of this repulsion following so closely upon the other words addressed to Peter in Mat 16:17-18, should have for ever precluded the Romish perversion of them.
Acts 8:20-23.-Peter repels with horror the thought of Simon Magus that the gift of the Holy Ghost could be purchased with money.
-------- Deprecatio; or, Deprecation An Expression of Feeling by way of Deprecation
Dep-re-ca´-ti-o. The name of this figure is from the Latin, and means literally a praying against, an act of deprecation. The figure is used in three senses:-
(1) A praying against evil, so as to avert or prevent its results: as when an Advocate pleads former good character, etc., on behalf of the accused person.
(2) Where the speaker prays against others, that evil may fall upon them;or even against himself. This is properly IMPRECATION.
(3) When the ejaculatory prayer is for the prevention or removal of any evil generally.
We have an example in the Deprecation of Moses:- Exo 32:32.-“Blot me, I pray, thee out of thy book.”
See this passage under Aposiopesis and Anthropopatheia.
-------- Diasyrmos; or, Raillery An Expression of Feeling by way of tearing away Disguise
Di´-a-syrm-os. Greek,
Twice the word is used in connection with Paul: Acts 8:3, “haltug”; and Acts 14:19, “drew.” This figure is so called, because it tears away the veil, or whatever may be covering the real matter in question, and shows it up as it really is. Hence, raillery which tears away all disguise.
Mat 26:50.-“Friend, wherefore art thou come?”
John 7:4.-The Lord’s brethren seek to reflect upon Him, as if He were mismanaging His affairs. But, in this case, the Diasyrmos proceeded from their own mistake as to what His mission really was. “There is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly.”
-------- Cataplexis; or, Menace An Expression of Feeling by way of Menace
Cat´-a-pleex´-is. Greek,
-------- Exouthenismos; or, Contempt An Expression of Feeling by way of Contempt
Ex´-ou-then-is´-mos. Greek,
See 2Sa 6:20. Job 26:2. Jer 22:23.
-------- Maledictio; or, Imprecation Expression of Feeling by way of Malediction or Execration Mal´-e-dic´-ti-o. This is the Latin name, and means denunciation, cursing, imprecation, or execration.
Hence the other Latin names, IMPRECATIO and EXECRATIO, COMMINATIO. Also ARA, an altar, by which, and at which, oaths and execrations were pronounced. The Greeks called it APEUCHE, ap-eu-chee, from
Psa 109:6-19, where we have the Imprecation of David’s enemies for evil to come upon him. See under Ellipsis.
Eze 34:2.-“Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves!” A woe that comes upon all shepherds to-day who do not “feed the flocks.”
See the whole chapter for the reasons for this solemn “Woe.” A concordance will enable students to find the examples for themselves, as they begin with “Woe,” such as those in Deu 28:11-19. Isa 3:11. Jer 48:46. Mat 11:21.
-------- Deasis; or, Adjuration An Expression of Feeling by Oath or Asseveration
De´-a-sis, from Greek,
It is exemplified in such phrases as: “Be it far from me”; “The Lord do so unto me,” if I do or do not, etc.; “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul (thy own self) liveth.”
“Be it far from me” seems to mean “profane be it to me”: i.e., be it as far from me as I could wish a profane thing to be.
-------- Chleuasmos; or, Mocking An Expression of Feeling by Mocking and Jeering
Chleu-as´-mos. Greek,
EPLCERTOMESIS, Greek,
MYCTERISMOS, Greek,
It is also what Jehovah will do, in return, to those who have thus treated His Anointed.
Psa 2:4.-“He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.”
Pro 1:24-33.-This is a solemn example of the figure.
See also Isa 14:4; Isa 14:12. Mic 2:4.
6. As to Argumentation
We now come to the last part of the third great branch of Figures involving Change, and to the last division of these, affecting the application of words as to Argumentation.
It is neither the smallest division, nor is it the least in importance. The application of words is so wide that it is difficult to separate every Figure, and say that one belongs to a certain class; because they frequently overlap, and belong to more than one class. For example: we have put in this last section, Argumentation, Erotesis, or Interrogating; but interrogation is not always used by way of argument. In like manner we have included Dialogismus; but as it represents two or more persons speaking, it might have been classed under the use “as to Persons.” So that, while each figure cannot be arbitrarily arranged under the separate heads, we have placed them in the order which seemed to be most proper to themselves, and most instructive and helpful to the Bible student.
Under this last division, Argumentation, we have put no less than nineteen figures; and first, as being one of the most important, Erotesis.
Separate works have been published on this figure alone; and it would form the subject of years of fruitful study by itself.
-------- Erotesis; or, Interrogating The Asking of Questions without waiting for the Answer
Er´-ō-tee´-sis. Greek,
PEUSIS (peu´-sis). Greek,
PYSMA (pys´-ma). Greek,
While these names are all used of the act of interrogation, the question itself is called EROTEMA (er´-o-tee´-ma).
There are questions in the Hebrew which are not reproduced in the English; and some are given below, though the labour of making an exhaustive list would be too great.
But, counting the questions as they appear in the English Bible, the importance of this figure Erotesis, or Interrogating, will be seen when we state that, in the 1,189 chapters into which the Bible is divided, there are no less than 3,298 questions. It is clear, therefore, that it is impossible for us here to quote, or even to give, all the references. Out of the 1,189 chapters of the Bible there are only 453 which are without a question.
These are divided as follows:-The 929 chapters of the Old Testament contain 2,274 questions; while the 260 chapters of the New Testament contain no less than 1,024. The average of questions in the New Testament is much higher, per chapter, than that in the Old Testament. For, while the average of the whole Bible is 2.75 (i.e., 2¾ questions for every chapter), the Old Testament average is 2.3 (or 2⅓), and the New Testament nearly twice as much: viz., 3.9 (or nearly 4). This is how the Bible is affected as a whole. When we come to the separate Books, we find that Job stands first with 329 questions; while Jeremiah comes next with 195. In the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew stands first with 177 questions; then John’s Gospel with 167: etc. When we come to separate chapters, Job 38:1-41 stands first with 40 questions; then 2Sa 19:1-43, with 22 questions. In the New Testament, 1Co 9:1-27 stands first, with 20 questions; followed closely by John 7:1-53, which has 19.
These facts are interesting, but are not important, as to the chapters; inasmuch as these are only human in their origin, and are often very incorrectly divided. As to the two Testaments and the separate books, however, they serve to show us the relative distribution of this beautiful figure Erotesis. With regard to the questions themselves, their classification is another matter altogether. Some are searching, causing the mind to pause, wonder, and admire. Some are revelations of the attributes of God, and of the depravity of man. The very first Divine question of the Old Testament reveals the condition of man by nature: “WHERE ART THOU?” It comes from God to the sinner, now “far off” (Eph 2:13), from God. While the first question in the New Testament reveals the effect of this on the sinner’s heart, causing him to turn to that Saviour whom the New Testament reveals, and cry, “WHERE IS HE?” The questions of the Bible, whether God addresses them to man; or whether man turns to God; or whether he questions himself; contain a mine of truth and teaching; while the heart is awakened, and the attention is aroused to seek out the answer, which is ever fraught with deep and blessed instruction.
We have only to reflect on the interesting fact that the figures used most frequently by the Lord Jesus are Interrogation and Implication (Erotesis and Hypocatastasis). The very first thing that is mentioned concerning Him as the first act of His life, is that He was found “in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions” (Luk 2:46).
Doubtless He could teach them much that would astound them, by the use of this Figure, in spite of the disparity of age. For a child of twelve years of age may question, when he may not teach; and yet, by this simple means, teach more effectively than the greatest of teachers. No wonder that “all that heard him were astonished.”
All writers and speakers have always drawn largely on this Figure, and many interesting examples might be given from general literature.
Science lifts its head against the word of God as though all were uncertainty outside of its own proud boastings. And yet a few questions soon prick and burst the bubble.
Scientia means real or intuitive knowledge, as does its Greek representative
We merely give this as illustrating how we may ourselves, by a few questions, dispose of the giants who would demolish us and rob us of the Inspired Word of God, which comes to us in all its blessed and Divine certainty.
We turn, then, to its questions; and our best course will be to indicate certain divisions into which they may be classified; so that the Bible-searching student may have somewhere to place the questions, as he seeks them out and finds them.
Several classifications have been attempted by various writers from Glassius downwards, and probably none is either correct or complete. The subject is too large, and its divisions over-lap too much, to allow of too minute an arrangement.
We might classify them under their subject matter, or under the words with which they commence (“Who,” “How,” “Why,” “Whether,” etc.).
If we used both these divisions they would get mixed up, and many questions would appear in each. So that we present the following, as embracing practically all the divisions into which the questions of the Bible may be classified.
1. In positive affirmation.
2. In negative affirmation.
3. In affirmative negation.
4. In demonstration.
5. In wonder and admiration.
6. In rapture.
7. In wishes.
8. In refusals and denials.
9. In doubts.
10. In admonition.
11. In expostulation.
12. In prohibition or dissuasion.
13. In pity and commiseration.
14. In disparagement.
15. In reproaches.
16. In lamentation.
17. In indignation.
18. In absurdities and impossibilities.
19. Double questions.
1. In Positive Affirmation Where the answer must be in the affirmative.
“Wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling?” (Psa 56:13 (14)). [Yes, thou wilt]. Here the present comes in between the past (“thou hast delivered my soul from death”) and the future (“that I may walk before God in the light of the living.”
“These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? [Every one]. Desolation and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee?” (Isa 51:19): i.e., by every one.
“Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?” (Luk 14:5). [No one].
2. In Negative Affirmation Where the question is put in the negative form, and the answer must be in the affirmative, and very emphatically so; the truth being thus much more forcibly brought out by the question than by a mere cold and formal statement of the fact.
“Is not the whole land before thee?” (Gen 13:9): i.e., yes, it is.
“Do not thy brethren feed in Shechem?” (Gen 37:13). [Yes, they do.] Here, in A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] and R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] , the words “the flock” are inserted (in the latter not in italics). This is because of the words “their father’s flock,” which occur in the previous verse. But this is one of the fifteen dotted words in the Hebrew Text, which means that they had got into the Text at a very early date; and the scribes, not liking actually to remove them from the Text, put a row of small dots along the top to show that the word or words ought not to be in the Text, though they had not been taken out. As the words “the flock” are dotted in the Hebrew, Gen 37:12, means that they had gone to feed themselves in Shechem! (Compare Eze 34:2; Eze 34:8; Eze 34:10, and Isa 56:11-12).
“Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother, whom I know to be eloquent?” (Exo 4:14): i.e., I know that he is so.
“Are they not on the other side Jordan?” etc. (Deu 11:30).
“Shall I not seek rest for thee?” etc. (Ruth 3:1).
“Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered?” (1Ch 21:17; compare 2Sa 24:17).
“Is there not a warfare to man upon the earth?” (Job 7:1, R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] ); marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] , a time of service. (See the A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] margin).
“Do not all go to one place?” (i.e., to Sheol, or the grave) (Ecc 6:6). The answer is: Yes, they do!
“Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver?” (Isa 50:2). Here, we have a combined affirmative and negative:-No; my hand is not shortened. I can redeem; and, I have power to deliver. Compare Isa 59:1.
“Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord” (Jer 23:24). Yes. The previous question is positive.
“Is not the meat cut off before our eyes?” (Joe 1:16).
“Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the Lord” (Amo 2:11).
“Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light?” (Amo 5:20). See under Metonymy and Pleonasm.
“Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” (Mat 7:22). See under Epizeuxis.
“Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the Scriptures, neither the power of God?” (Mark 12:24). Here, the “not” is
“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?” (1Co 10:16). Yes, it is the fellowship of the members of the one Body in partaking of all the merits of Christ’s blood. “The bread which we break, is it not the communion (or fellowship) of the Body of Christ?” The next verse makes it perfectly clear that the Body here mentioned is Christ Mystical, because the Holy Spirit goes on to give the reason-“For we being many are one bread, and, one Body.” See 1Co 12:12.
“Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Heb 1:14). So Obadiah 1:5; Obadiah 1:8. Jon 4:11. John 4:35; John 6:70; John 11:9.
Sometimes the negative is omitted by Ellipsis (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ).
2Sa 15:27 -“The king said also unto Zadok the priest, Art not thou a seer?”
Here the negative is supplied in italics. But not in Eze 8:6.-“Son of man, seest thou what they do?”: i.e., seest thou not? So 1Sa 2:27, and especially Jer 31:20, where it should be “Is not Ephraim my dear son? Is he not a pleasant child?” as is clear from what follows.
3. In Affirmative Negation This is a very important division, because some of the weightiest truths are conveyed by this form of question: i.e., where the question is put in the affirmative, and the answer to be supplied by the mind is a very emphatic negative.
“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Gen 18:14). No! there is nothing too hard for Him, for compare Jer 32:17. Zec 8:6. Mat 3:9; Mat 19:26. Luk 1:37.
“Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?” (Gen 18:17).
“How can I dispossess them?” (Deu 7:17): i.e., I cannot do it.
“Who is like unto thee?” is the cry of all the “poor and needy” ones whom Jehovah has delivered. (Psa 35:10). See Exo 15:11. Deu 33:26-27. 1Sa 2:2. Psa 71:19; Psa 73:25; Psa 89:6 (7); Psa 113:5.
“Shall they escape by iniquity?” (Psa 56:7 (8)). No, they shall not.
“Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?” (Psa 94:16): i.e., there is no one to do this but God; as verse 17 clearly shows.
“Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? who can show forth all his praise?” (Psa 106:2). The answer is that no one can.
Psa 9:14 (15) does not conflict with this: for there it is a prayer for Jehovah’s mercy, so that he “may show forth” all His praise. Compare Psa 40:5 (6); Psa 139:17-18.
Ecc 3:21.-Here, we must take the question “who know … whether,” etc., as requiring a negative answer. See under Appendix E.
“Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord” (Jer 23:24). No, none can so hide. The following question is negative.
“How shall then his kingdom stand?” (Mat 12:26): i.e., it is impossible.
“Which of you convicteth me of sin?” (John 8:46).
“What if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?” (Rom 3:3). See under Tapeinosis.
“If God be for us, who can be against us?”
“Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?”
“Who is he that condemneth?”
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (Rom 8:31-35). See under Epistrophe, Anaphora, Ellipsis, which are all employed in these verses.
“Who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?” (Rom 11:34-35).
“Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges?” etc. (1Co 9:7).
“Unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son?” (Heb 1:5): i.e., to none of them, but to the Son only. These words, “Thou art my Son,” appear to be the Divine formula for the anointing of Christ: Mat 3:17, for His office of prophet; Mat 17:5, for His office of priest, * [Note: See Christ’s Prophetic Teaching, by the same author and publisher.] and Psa 2:7 (cf. Heb 1:5), for His office of king.
“To which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?” (Heb 1:13), i.e., He never said this to any created angelic being.
See, for other instances, Gen 50:19. 1Sa 2:25. Job 40:2, etc. Isa 40:13-14. Joe 1:2, etc., and many other places.
Sometimes the negative in the answer is not absolute, but only relative.
“Who knoweth the power of thine anger?” (Psa 90:11). Not every one. See Psa 90:13 and Psa 90:16.
See also under Metonymy.
“Who can find a virtuous woman?” (Pro 31:10): i.e., not that there are absolutely none, but that they are relatively few. See the structure under Acrostichion.
“Who hath believed our report?” (Isa 53:1). Not, no one, but those to whom it is given-the Remnant. See under Hypotyposis and Metonymy.
“Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them?” (Hos 14:9 (10)): i.e., not that no one is wise, but that such are relatively few.
4. In Demonstration Sometimes a question is used to make an affirmation as to a certain subject, demonstrating a fact or proving a truth.
“What man is he that feareth the Lord?” (Psa 25:12). This is to call attention to the demonstration in the next verse.
“Son of man, seest thou [not] what they do?” (Eze 8:6). We have already had this trader a negative affirmation, but its object was to say, Behold, thou art a witness of their abominable idolatry.
“What went ye out into the wilderness to see?” This question is three times repeated: to demonstrate to the People the greatness of John the Baptist (Mat 11:7-9). So Psa 34:12-13 (13, 14). Jer 9:12 (11). Hos 14:9 (10) might also be put under this head. Pro 22:29; Pro 29:20.
5. In Wonder and Admirationg
“Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? And shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?” (Gen 17:17), in wonder at the Divine power. See Rom 4:17-21. Abraham laughed for joy, for he fell upon his face in reverence (John 8:56. Gen 21:8). Sarah laughed from incredulity (Gen 18:12). Contrast Martha and Mary in John 11:21 and John 11:32. Mary “fell down at his feet.”
“How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son?” (Gen 27:20).
“What is this that God hath done unto us?” (Gen 42:28).
“How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psa 133:1). See under Asterismos.
“Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?” (Isa 43:1-2). See under Prosopopœia. This refers not to Christ’s work of redemption for His People, but to the day of His vengeance and judgment on His enemies; as the context clearly shows.
“How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord God (Adonai Jehovah)?” (Eze 16:30).
“How soon is the fig-tree withered away?” (Mat 21:20). Or better-How can the fig-tree have withered by this time? So also Mark 6:37.
6. In Rapture or Exultation “Oh how great is thy goodness!” (Psa 31:19 (20)).
“How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God (El)! How great is the sum of them!” (Psa 139:17). See Anthropopatheia.
“What is man, that thou art mindful of him?” (Psa 8:4 (5); Psa 144:3. Job 7:17. Heb 2:6), to magnify the grace of God in lifting up such an one from the dunghill to make him inherit the throne of glory (1Sa 2:8). See Psa 113:7-8.
“Who am I, O Lord God (Adoani Jehovah)?” (2Sa 7:18).
It was the revelation of the greatness of God’s grace that enabled David thus to take the place of a true worshipper. In 2Sa 7:1, David “sat in his house,” and before himself; then his thought was to build a house for God; but, when he learnt that God was going to build him a house, then he went in, and “sat before the Lord.”
“Is this the manner of man, O Lord God (Adonai Jehovah)?” (2Sa 7:19). The margin of the R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] reads “Is this the law of man, O Lord God,” and the A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] margin says, “Heb. law.” But idiomatically it means, “Is this the law for humanity?”: i.e., the promise to David embraced blessing for the whole of humanity, and David by faith saw it, and exulted in it.
7. In Wishes
“Who will give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate?” (2Sa 23:15, Heb.). See under Œonismos.
“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (Isa 6:8).
“Who shall deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom 7:24 (marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] )). See under Ecphonesis, Metonymy, Hypallage, and Ellipsis. By these figures is this height of Christian experience emphasised: i.e., the knowledge of the fact as to what God had done with “sins” (Rom 1:16-32; Rom 2:1-29; Rom 3:1-31; Rom 4:1-25; Rom 5:1-11), and also as to what He had done with “sin” (5:12-8:39); so that, although the fruits of the old tree are still seen and mourned over, there is the blessed knowledge that God reckons it as dead-as having died with Christ, and that we are to reckon the same.
8. In Refusals and Denials
“How shall I curse, whom God (EL) hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord (Jehovah) hath not defied?” (Num 23:8): i.e., I neither can nor dare do so.
“What have I to do with thee?” (John 2:4). See under Idiom. Also Jdg 11:12. 2Sa 16:10. 1Ki 17:18. 2Ki 3:13. Mat 8:29. Mark 5:7. Luk 8:28.
9. In Doubts
“Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxen old shall I have pleasure?” (Gen 18:12). See above.
“O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee?” (Hos 6:4). See under Aporia. So Hos 11:8.
“Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God?” (Mic 7:6).
“But the righteousness which is of faith, speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven?” (Rom 10:6-7). See under Epitrechon. These doubts, raised by self-righteousness, are seen to be removed only by the imputation of a Divine righteousness.
10. In Admonition
“Hearest thou not, my daughter?” (Ruth 2:8): i.e., diligently hearken. “Go not to glean in another field.”
“Who hath warned you (with the emphasis on the “you”) to flee from the wrath to come?” (Mat 3:7).
11. In Expostulation
“Where art thou?” (Gen 3:9). To show Adam where he really was, and the condition into which he had fallen, having lost fellowship and communion with God.
“What is this that thou hast done unto me?” etc. (Gen 12:18-19).
“What is that betwixt me and thee?” (Gen 23:15).
“Who am I that I should go into Pharaoh?” (Exo 3:11).
“What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?” (Isa 5:4).
“Wherefore, have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge?” (Isa 58:3). So Gen 31:26-27; Gen 44:4; Gen 44:15. Psa 11:1; Psa 50:16 (see Apodioxis). Eze 12:22; Eze 18:1 (2). Dan 3:14; and many examples in the prophecy of Malachi.
12. In Prohibitions “Why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?” (Gen 27:45).
“Why should I kill thee?” (1Sa 19:17): i.e., let me not have to kill thee.
“Wherefore should the heathen say,” etc.? (Psa 79:10): i.e., let not the heathen say.
“Wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?” (Ecc 5:6).
“Why shouldest thou die before thy time?” (Ecc 7:17).
“Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword?” (Jer 27:13). So Jer 27:17, “Wherefore should this city be laid waste?” i.e., Do not die. Do not let this city be laid waste.
“Why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (Eze 33:11): i.e., Turn from your ways, so that ye die not. See under Epizeuxis and Obtestatio. So 2Sa 2:22. 2Ch 25:16. Dan 1:10, etc.
13. In Pity and Commiseration
“How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people?” (Lam 1:1; see Lam 2:1, etc.). See under Antithesis and Ellipsis.
“How often would I have gathered thy children, etc.?” (Mat 23:37).
There are many examples in the Book of Lamentations.
14. In Disparagements “Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?” (Isa 2:22).
“What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother?” (1Ki 9:13).
15. In Reproaches
“When this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the Lord? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the Lord” (Jer 23:33. So Jer 23:35-36).
“What is truth?” (John 18:38). See Irony.
16. In Lamentation “Lord, how are they increased that trouble me!” (Psa 3:1 (2)): i.e., how come mine enemies to be so many?
“Why hast thou forsaken me?” (Psa 22:1 (2)).
“Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone for ever? Doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies?” (Psa 77:7-9 (8-10)). These lamentations arise from self-occupation (see Psa 77:1-6). It is our natural “infirmity” (Psa 77:10), that leads us into it. The only remedy is to cease from self-occupation, and look away from ourselves to God (Psa 77:10-20): then happiness and praise take the place of lamentation.
Compare Psa 73:1-28; where the same experience is gone through, only then the trouble arises from looking around instead of looking within. But the remedy for this “foolishness” (Psa 73:22) is the same as for the “infirmity”: viz., looking up (Psa 73:17 and Psa 73:23-28). The lesson from questions in these two Psalms (Psa 77:1-20 and Psa 73:1-28) is this. If we want to be miserable, all we have to do is to look within. If we want to be distracted, all we have to do is to look around. But if we would be happy, we must look up, away from ourselves and others, to God.* [Note: See Things to Come for Oct., 1899.]
“How is the faithful city become an harlot!” (Isa 1:21). Or, “How is it that the loyal city has turned harlot?” See under Synecdoche and Antithesis.
“Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? Shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?” (Lam 2:20).
17. In Indignation “Why do the heathen rage? and [why do] the people imagine a vain thing?” (Psa 2:1).
“How long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you?” (Mat 17:17). See Ecphonesis.
18. In Absurdities and Impossibilities “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?” (Job 14:4).
“Shall mortal man be more just than God? or shall a man be more pure than His Maker?” (Job 4:17).
“Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil” (Jer 13:23). See Parœmia.
“How can a man be born when he is old?” etc. (John 3:4).
“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (John 6:52). It was “a hard saying” (John 6:60), and hence they thought it absurd.
“Have any of the elders or of the Pharisees believed on him?” (John 7:48). This question forms, from that day to this, the excuse for not acknowledging the claims of God or His Truth, unless the great and the influential of the Church receive them. It is the putting of man before God, instead of studying to show ourselves approved only to God.
“Who is this Son of man?” (John 12:34). This was the expression of the absurdity on the part of Christ’s enemies.
19. Double Questions
Sometimes double questions are employed, repeating the same question in different words so as to express the fact more emphatically.
See Job 4:17; Job 6:5, etc.; Job 8:3; Job 10:4, etc.; Job 11:2, Job 11:7; Job 22:3. Isa 10:15. Jer 5:9; Jer 5:29.
-------- Dialogismos; or, Dialogue
Dī-al-o-gis-mos. Greek,
Sometimes the speaker brings forward another as speaking, and uses his words, adapting them to the object in view. The Latins called this figure SERMOCINATIO, which means the same thing.
Isa 14:16-19.-“They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms? etc., But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch,” etc.
Isa 63:1-6.-“Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? This that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength?
I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?
I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me; for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.” etc.
Thus, vividly and powerfully, is the day of vengeance, and of judgment, described. And yet there are persons who take this passage as treating of Christ’s past work of grace on Calvary!
Mic 2:4.-“In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled:” etc. (See under Polyptoton).
Zec 8:20-23.-“It shall yet come to pass that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also.
Yea, many people and strong nations shall come,” etc. See Polyptoton.
Some think that Paul, when he says, in
1Co 9:24, “So run, that ye may obtain,” does not directly exhort the Corinthians himself; but by a Sermocinatio, brings forward and uses that incitement which the trainers and spectators in the public contests usually employed.
Other examples may be found under Antimetathesis, and in Mat 25:37-39. Luk 13:6-9; Luk 15:20-32.
-------- Dianœa; or, Animated Dialogue
Di´-a-nœ´-a. Greek,
It is a form of Dialogismos (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ).
-------- Affirmatio; or, Affirmation Spontaneous Affirmation
Affirmation becomes a Figure when it is used otherwise than in answer to a question; or, instead of a bare statement of the fact.
It emphasizes the words thus to affirm what no one has disputed. The Apostle uses it in Php 1:18, “What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.”
-------- Negatio; or, Negation Spontaneous Negation
Negation is used in a similar way as a Figure, when it is a denying of that which has not been affirmed: i.e., when, instead of merely making a statement, it is put in the form of a denial.
Paul uses it in Gal 2:5, “To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour.” (See Synecdoche). When the negation is very important, the negative is repeated, or combined with another negative to increase its emphasis. See Repeated Negation.
-------- Accismus; or, Apparent Refusal
Ac-cis´-mus, a cutting all but through, from the Latin, accido. This Figure is so named because it is an apparent or assumed refusal.
Mat 15:22-26.-When the woman of Canaan cried “Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David,” the Lord did not intend to reject her: but, having no claim (as a Gentile) on Christ as the “Son of David,” He uses the figure Accismus, and apparently refuses her request by saying, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
“Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord help me.” But again, there was no confession as to the “me.” It was not like the Publican, “God be merciful to me-a sinner.” It might have been a self-righteous “me.” So the Lord again uses the Figure Accismus, but He now combines it with Hypocatastasis; and says:
“It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.”
Now came the confession-she saw the point. She admitted the fact as to her condition as “a dog of the Gentiles,” and said, “Truth, Lord:” and received the blessing which had been determined for her.
Mat 21:29 is sometimes given as an example; but this was a real refusal, altered by after repentance.
-------- Ætiologia; or, Cause Shown The rendering a Reason for what is said or done
Ae´-ti-o-log´-ia (Aetiology). Greek
Rom 1:13.-“Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.”
Rom 1:15-16 : “I am ready to preach the Gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation.” So Rom 3:20; Rom 4:14-15, and all other passages where the word “For” points out the reason, or “Therefore” shows the cause.
These are too numerous to be quoted; but their significance should always be noted.
-------- Anteisagoge; or, Counter-Question The Answering of one Question by asking another
An-teis´-a-gō´-gee. Greek,
It is called also ANTICATALLAXIS (an´-ti-cat´-al-lax´-is). Greek,
Hence the Latin names of the Figure: COMPENSATIO, compensation, and CONTRARIA ILLATIO, a bringing in against.
Jdg 14:8.-The answer to Samson’s “riddle” is given in the form of a question, and is thus an Anteisagoge. See under Enigma. A beautiful example is furnished in
Mat 21:23-25; where, when the chief priests and elders asked Christ by what authority He acted; He said, “I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.” He then goes on, in Mat 21:25, to answer the question by asking another. In the answer of His enemies we have the Figure Aporia (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ).
Rom 9:19-20.-“Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?”
“Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God?” See below, under Prolepsis.
-------- Antistrophe; or, Retort A turning the Words of a Speaker against himself
An-tis´-tro-phee. Greek,
Hence the Latin, VIOLENTUM, violent, and INVERSIO, inversion, a turning against.
Mat 15:26-27.-The woman of Canaan used this figure in her reply to Christ. He had said “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.” And she said, “Truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master’s table,” and thus turned His words against Himself.
2Co 11:22.-“Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.” See also under Epiphoza. When the words thus turned against the speaker are an accusation, then the figure is called
-------- Anticategoria; or, Tu Quoque The use of a Counter-Charge, or Recrimination
An´-ti-cat´-ee-gor´-i-a. Greek,
It is what the Latins called a TU QUOQUE; or, ACCUSATIO ADVERSA, an opposite accusation, or an accusation turned against another; or, TRANSLATIO IN ADVERSARIUM, a transferring against an adversary.
Eze 18:25.-“Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?” So Eze 18:29, and Eze 33:17. This would be Anteisagoge, were it a simple question instead of an accusation.
-------- Metastasis; or, Counter-Blame A transferring of the Blame from one’s self to another
Me-tas´-ta-sis. Greek,
Hence, Metastasis means a placing beyond: i.e., a transferring.
Hence called by the Latins TRANSLATIO, a translating. The Figure is so called because it is a transferring of blame from one person or thing to another.
Elijah used the figure in his answer to Ahab in
1Ki 18:17-18.-“When Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house,” etc.
2Ki 9:19.-“Is it peace?… What hast thou to do with peace?” This is also the Figure Anteisagoge (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ).
Rom 7:14.-“We know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.”
-------- Anacœnosis; or, Common Cause An Appeal to others as having interests in Common
An´-a-cœ-nō´-sis. Greek,
Isa 5:3-4.-“And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could I have done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?” etc.
Mal 1:6.-“If then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name.”
Luk 11:19.-“If I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.”
Acts 4:19.-“But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.”
1Co 4:21.-“What will ye? Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?”
1Co 10:15.-“I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.”
1Co 11:13-14.-“Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?”
Gal 4:21.-“Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?”
See also Jer 23:23. Gal 3:1-2; Gal 3:5, etc.
-------- Synchoresis; or, Concession Making a Concession of one Point to gain another
Syn´-chō-ree´-sis. Greek,
It thus differs from Epitrope (see below), where we admit something that is wrong in itself for the sake of argument.
Synchoresis, therefore, is concession, while Epitrope is admission or surrender. The Latins called it CONCESSIO, concession, while the Greeks had another name for it, EPICHORESIS (Ep´-i-chō-ree´-sis), an agreement upon a point.
Jer 12:1.-“Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk (marg. [Note: arg. Margin.] reason the case) with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?”
Hab 1:13.-“Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity; wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?” etc.
Rom 2:17-20.-All these claims of the Jew are admitted for the sake of argument, in order to emphasize the weighty reproof in Rom 2:21, “Thou therefore, which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?” etc., to the end of Rom 2:23.
1Co 4:8.-He concedes the point as to their desire to reign, but ironically adds, “I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.”
2Co 10:1.-He concedes the point that he was base among them: but 2Co 10:2 and 2Co 10:11 show that he does so only to gain another point. So in 2Co 12:16.
Gal 4:15.-The apostle grants the fact, which was indisputable, as to the great friendship and love that existed between himself and the Galatian saints; in order to gain another point, and add to his argument, when he asks in the next verse, “Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?”
Jas 2:19.-“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”
-------- Epitrope; or, Admission Admission of Wrong in order to gain what is Right
E-pit´-ro-pee. Greek,
1Ki 22:15.-“Go, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.” Micaiah (by Epitrope and Irony) admitted what was in Jehoshaphat’s heart, and thus exposed and condemned it.
Ecc 11:9.-“Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.”
Jer 2:28.-“But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee?” Here, the admission as to these gods is made; but only for the sake of exposing, by Irony, the fact that they were no gods. So Jer 7:21, and Eze 20:39.
Amo 4:4-5.-See under Irony.
Mat 23:32.-“Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.” Christ was not inciting to murders and martyrdoms; but, using the figure Epitrope, He granted their position, and ironically told them to act accordingly.
John 13:27.-“That thou doest, do quickly.” The Lord is not sanctioning the evil, but permitting it.
Rom 11:19-20.-“Thou (Gentile, Rom 11:13) wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear.”
Here, it is not Synchoresis, i.e., a concession of what is right, but an admission of what is wrong, for the sake of argument. Indeed, it is a mixture of the two, for there are two propositions. “The branches were broken off”: i.e., the Jews were cast off for a time (though not cast away, Rom 11:1), that is true. That point is conceded; but “that I might be grafted in”? No! that was not the object: that is what you Gentiles will say, “Thou wilt say.” It is not what the Holy Spirit says. That was not the cause why the Jews were broken off. It was “because of unbelief”! That was the true reason!
-------- Paromologia; or, Confession A Concession in Argument to gain Favour
Par-o-mo-log´-i-a. Greek,
-------- Protherapeia; or, Conciliation The securing of Indulgence for what is about to be said
Pro-ther-a-pei-a. Greek,
It is called also PROEPIPLEXIS, pro´-ep-i-pleex´-is, from
John 3:2.-“Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God,” etc.
Mat 19:16.-“And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master.” See under Synocœosis. So Mark 10:17. Luk 18:18.
Acts 17:22.-“Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are very religious.” This is the meaning of the word (see R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] margin)
There are only two religions in the world; and there never have been more from Gen 4:1-26 to the present day. They are put in the forefront of Revelation. Abel’s and Cain’s; God’s way and man’s way; God’s way, and man’s attempted improvement on it.
All kinds of false religion agree in one thing. They are all alike, and all at one in demanding that the sinner must do something, be something, give, pay, feel, experience, or produce something, to merit God’s favour. They quarrel bitterly as to what that something is to be. Controversies rage concerning it; the blood of martyrs has been shed; battles have been fought; but yet they are all agreed that the sinner must say, “Something in my hand I bring.”
Whereas the one and only true religion is expressed in the words, “NOTHING in my hand I bring.” So that a man may be “very religious,” and yet be unsaved, and “far off” from God (Eph 2:13).
Acts 26:2-3 is another beautiful example of true Protherapeia. See also Acts 22:3-6, etc.
-------- Prodiorthosis; or, Warning Something said to prepare for a shock
Pro´-di-or-tho´-sis. Greek,
-------- Palinodia; or, Retracting Approval of one Thing after reproving for another Thing
Pal´-i-noōd´-i-a. Greek,
Examples may be found in some of the Epistles to the Seven Churches.
Ephesus: Rev 2:6, after the reproof of Rev 2:4-5.
Sardis: Rev 3:4; Rev 5:1-14, after the reproof of Rev 5:1. In the Old Testament, examples may be seen in 2Ch 15:17; 2Ch 19:3. Psa 89:33; Psa 106:8; Psa 106:44.
-------- Prolepsis (Occupatio); or, Anticipation The answering of an Argument by anticipating it before it is used
Pro-leep´-sis. Greek,
PROCATALEPSIS (Pro´-cat-a-leep´-sis). Greek,
APANTESIS (Ap´-an-tee´-sis). Greek,
OCCUPATIO, anticipation.
ANTEOCCUPATIO, anticipation beforehand.
PRÆMONITIO, a defending beforehand, obviating objections.
All these different names show us the importance of the figure in argumentation.
There is another kind of Prolepsis, which has to do only with time. It is distinguished from our present figure in that while it anticipates and speaks of future things as present it really adjourns the application of the words, and is called AMPLIATIO, or adjournment. (See pages 689 and 914). The form of Prolepsis which we are considering is an anticipation which has to do with Argumentation; and hence is distinguished from the other by the word OCCUPATIO: i.e., we not only anticipate what is coming, but occupy and deal with it, instead of adjourning or Putting it off. See Section 4, above.
Prolepsis, as relating to Argumentation is of two kinds: (i.) Tecta, or, closed; and (ii.) Aperta, or, open.
I. Tecta, or Closed Prolepsis, is where the anticipated objection is merely stated or implied, not answered; or answered, but not plainly stated.
II. Aperta, or Open Prolepsis, is where the anticipated objection is both answered and stated.
We will consider these in order with the different names which have been given to them.
I. Tecta: From the Latin tego, to roof or cover. The Prolepsis is so called when it anticipates the objection, but confines itself merely to stating it. It is called HYPOPHORA, hy-poph´-o-ra. Greek,
Sometimes the objection is not stated, but is implied by the answer which is given.
Rom 9:6.-“Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel which are of Israel.” The objection which is met is this: If Israel be rejected and cast off for a time (as is going to be shown), then the Word of God has failed, and is ineffectual. No! For they are not all Israel which are of Israel. And there is to be a People taken out from among the Gentiles for His name, as well as a remnant of Israel, according to the election of grace.
Rom 10:18.-“But I say, Have they not heard? (Anticipating the objection that they have not heard.) Yes verily,” etc.
Rom 11:1.-“I say then, Hath God cast away his people?” (Anticipating the objection, which many make even until to-day.) To which he replies, “God forbid,” etc.
Rom 11:11.-“I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall [for ever]?” (Thus anticipating the objection that they had done so, and meeting it in the words that follow), or, “Their falling away was not the object (or purpose) of their stumbling, was it?”
II. Aperta
Latin, aperta, open. This use of the figure is so called, because not only is the objection anticipated; but it is stated, and the answer also is given. The names for this variation are ANTHYPOPHORA, an´-thy-poph´-o-ra. Greek,
It was also called
SCHESIS, schee´-sis. Greek,
ANASCHESIS, an-a´-sche-sis´. Greek,
PROSAPODOTON, pros-a-pod´-o-ton. Greek,
HYPOBOLE, hy-pob´-o-lee. Greek,
Isa 49:14.-Zion’s objection is not merely anticipated in this verse, but is answered in the next.
“But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.”
“Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.”
Mat 3:9.-“Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able even of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” See under Parechesis.
Rom 3:1-10.-Under the figure Antimetathesis, we have shown how the objections of an imaginary Jewish opponent are here stated and met. See section 2, above: “As to persons.”
Rom 4:1-3.-The objection is met, that Abraham was justified by works-his faith being a work. This is shewn in Rom 4:4 and the following verses to be impossible, as denying the very first principles of grace.
Rom 6:1-2.-“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, who have died to sin, live any longer therein?” That is to say: If those who are “in Christ” died in God’s purpose when Christ died, how can they live in sin?
Rom 7:7.-“What shall we say then? that the Law is sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the Law.”
Rom 9:14-15.-“What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For,” etc.
Rom 9:19.-See above under Anteisagoge.
Rom 11:20-21.-See above under Epitrope.
1Co 15:35-36.-“But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou foolish man! that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die.”