By

Definition

A Reader’s Guide

to the

King James Bible

James W. Knox

By Definition

A READER’S GUIDE

to the

KING JAMES BIBLE

By Definition takes on the most difficult

words in the English Bible and sets forth their

origin, meaning and usage in a clear and concise

manner.

In addition to the interesting word studies,

there are fourteen appendices that will help

readers of all skill levels comprehend and enjoy

their Bible as never before.

Detailed enough for the disciplined student,

yet, plain enough for the most casual reader, this

will be one of the most oft used resources in any

library.

By Definition

Reader’s Guide to the

King James Bible

First Printing, 1996

Second Printing, 1997

Third Printing, 1999

Fourth Printing, 2001

Copyright © by James W. Knox

All Rights Reserved

Printed in the United States of America

All scripture quotations are from the Authorized

(King James) Version. Where portions of a verse

are set forth in block capital letters, it is for the purpose of the author’s emphasis and does not

represent a revision of the text.

Table of Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Preface to the Second Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Preface to the Third Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

The Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Appendix A: Currencies, Weights and Measures . . . . . . . . . 167

Appendix B: Those Nasty Thees and Thous . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Appendix C: Those Dreadful Words in Italics . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Appendix D: -Est and -Eth are Not So Bad . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Appendix E: The Degeneration of the English Language . . . 176

Appendix F: Capitalization of Pronouns Relating to Deity . 184

Appendix G: Prefixes and Suffixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Appendix H: The Origin of Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Appendix I: Rules of Grammar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Appendix J: Proper Pronunciation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Appendix K: Spelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Appendix L: Parts of Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Appendix M: Rules for Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Appendix N: A Tragedy in Past Participles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Preface

I believe I left him incredulous to the last, for

his constant answer to my unwearied utterances

was that of the Dutch schoolmaster in The

Vicar of Wakefield : “I have 10,000 florens a

year without Greek.” I eat heartily without

Greek.

MARY SHELLEY

from Frankenstein, or The Modern Promethius

The Definitions

There are things in the old Book which I may

not be able to explain, but I fully accept it as the infallible word of God, and receive its teachings

as inspired by the Holy Spirit.

GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE

from his collected correspondence

The Appendices

Within this awful volume lies

The mystery of mysteries.

Happiest they of human race

To whom their God has given grace

To read, to fear, to hope, to pray,

To lift the latch and force their way.

And better had they ne’er been born

Who read to doubt or read to scorn.

SIR WALTER SCOTT

Preface To

The

Third Edition

If you've got something to say,

say it succinctly and then shut up.

Don't drown your message in a sea of words.

GENERAL “VINEGAR” JOE STILLWELL

Preface To

The

Second Edition

Every other author may aspire to praise,

The lexicographer

Can only hope to escape reproach.

SAMUEL JOHNSON

PREFACE / 7

f you will carefully examine the text of the Authorized Version you will find fewer than one hundred and ninety Iwords which are not readily known and understood by the average reader. This is certainly good news for modern man.

Many have been convinced that the A.V. text is filled with so many outdated and archaic words that it could not possibly be a living Bible.

Large numbers in our day have a high school diploma or college degree when they first begin to read and study the Bible.

Yet, having been educated according to a new American

standard, they often lack the working knowledge of the English language which is required to read what is a remarkably simple volume.

The answer to difficulty in Bible reading and comprehension is not to wander about in the Greek and Hebrew sections of the Strong’s Concordance, nor to seek a modern language version which is “easier to understand.” The solution is to take the time to improve one’s vocabulary.

Such a study will undoubtedly prove a weariness of the

flesh (Ecclesiastes 12:12), but those saints who believe that every

word of God is pure (Proverbs 30:5) will certainly want to be conversant with all that the Father has spoken (Luke 24:25).

While the translation peddlers and the indoctrination staffs at our seminaries have convinced our generation of professing Christians (who will not check facts for themselves) that the Authorized Version is filled with out-dated and archaic words, such is far from the truth.

For the purpose of this study I read the Bible through and wrote down every word which presented a difficulty to me, or which I thought might be a problem to the average reader.

Excluding units of weight, measure and currency, which we shall discuss in an appendix, there were only 182 words in all of scripture which should pose any hardship.

Now when one considers there are 773,692 words in the

Bible, and scarcely more than one out of 4,250 are beyond the grasp of someone with an elementary school education, we have 8 / READER’S GUIDE TO THE KING JAMES BIBLE

to question the motives, or the intelligence, of the critics of our English Bible.

The case becomes more incredible when we break down

these 182 words. Twenty-one of them are the names of rocks and minerals. Thirteen of them are medical terms. Twenty are plants, herbs or vegetable extracts. Seventeen of them are types of animals, sixteen are building terms and six are articles of clothing. This means ninety-seven, or more than half of the words, are from a field where a specialized vocabulary is required for accuracy. These words can not be revised or updated without falsifying the text.

For example, a reader in Berkley may not know what a

pygarg is, but to change the word to bunny rabbit so people know what they are reading about is to put forth a lie. A pygarg is not a bunny rabbit.

A new international reader may not know what galbanum is, yet, changing the word to Chanel Number Five may aid in comprehension but does not constitute translating.

It is impossible to produce an honest translation of the very words of God without including words unknown to some readers.

This theme will be developed as we progress.

Herein lies the problem. Some men and women have been raised in an academic environment. They have spent their entire life in a classroom. They know books, essays, poems, and literature. They know lectures, tests and grades. Because they have never worked with their hands they assume no one

understands the laborer’s vocabulary. Because they have never dug in the soil they assume no one can identify plants or insects.

Because they have never explored in or climbed a mountain they assume no one knows what stones comprise such a wonder.

From this background they set out to “help” those who live outside the world of books by ridding the word of God of all language which the bookworms cannot understand. This is the strange outworking of a heart filled with kindness and concern blended with pride and arrogance. “Oh, you poor ignorant PREFACE / 9

working man, let me help you get closer to God by changing your Bible so you can understand it.”

These persons are not the devil incarnate. They are not all staying up nights plotting the ruin of the body of Christ. Many of them are polite, sincere, humble, egomaniacs whose education and training have cut them off from the real world. Having been convinced that all true knowledge lies in the classroom they are certain that those outside the classroom have no access to knowledge.

Let me say quite frankly that I am neither ashamed or proud of my seventeen years of formal education. My “degrees” have profited me nothing. But this one thing I gained in all my years of schooling – I learned to study.

Dear reader, it is not the classroom or the lack of such which matters. It is not the education or lack of such that will make the difference. Are you willing to search out the truth? Do you desire the knowledge of the Lord God and the truth of His word?

It is this hunger for God’s revelation of Himself that is most essential.

Moses was educated; David was not. Daniel was educated; Elijah was not. Paul was educated; Peter was not. All were used mightily of God because they sought the Lord and His truth with all their heart.

My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my

commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto

wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou

criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for

understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for

her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of

the Lord, and find the knowledge of God (Proverbs 2:1-5).

What follows is a look at the words in the Authorized

Version that cause some readers some difficulty. We will simply give the word, its definition, the scripture references where it is found and such comments as are needed to make the definition understandable.

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In some cases we will give alternate definitions, with explanations. This will be done in cases where the usage of a word is familiar to the reader, but where this usage is not the one found in the Bible text.

I have made every effort to make what could be a very dull and tedious subject interesting and enjoyable. If that has been accomplished, God be praised.

Two final points are in order.

First, the best rule of study in any field, especially when searching the word of God, is NEVER ASSUME.

You will be surprised by how many words do not mean what you thought they meant and how much truth is to be found by taking the time to look up the real meaning of the English words.

Don’t skip it. Don’t guess at it. Look it up!

Second, be careful. The slightest inattention may lead to the greatest errors. In the first draft of this book I had typed, “a sinew unties muscles and bones.” Our proof-readers advised that we switch two little letters, for sinews unite muscles and bones.

Two letters change one word and instead of your body being held together, you fall apart. Pay close attention to all that you read.

God wasted no words and He made no mistakes.

THE DEFINITIONS / 25

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1. ABATED

You might recall that following the flood of Noah’s day the waters abated from off the earth. Also he sent forth a dove from

him, to see if the waters were ABATED from off the face of the

ground; (Genesis 8:8).

Abate, in this Biblical setting, is a verb meaning “to bring down or reduce from a higher to a lower state, number, degree, so forth; to lessen, to diminish, to remit, to deduct.”

You may also find this secondary definition appropriate: “to decrease or become less in strength or violence.” The first definition suits the text, but one can certainly picture the strength and violence of the waters which, having fallen from heaven, coursed at will over the surface of the earth.

Synonyms of abate include subside, decrease, intermit, and decline. These words all imply a coming down from some previously raised or excited state. Abate expresses this in respect to degrees and implies a diminution of force or intensity, as in

“the storm abates”, “the cold abates”, and so forth.

This is important, for it gives us to understand that the waters of the flood did not all return to their place of origin.

After Noah’s flood the waters were not as high as during the flood but were higher than before the flood. There is no time here for talk of Atlantis, and such, but understanding the word abate gives us to know that there was less dry land available to man after the flood than there was before the deluge.

See also Genesis 8:3, 11; Leviticus 27:18; Deuteronomy 34:7; Judges 8:3.

2. ABHOR

Abhor is taken from the Latin word abhorrere, which means

“to stand on end, to bristle, to shiver, to look terrible.”

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26 READER’S GUIDE TO THE KING JAMES BIBLE

Our English word means “to shrink back with shuddering from; to regard with horror or detestation; to feel excessive repugnance toward; to hate extremely.”

This word, and its derivatives, makes a fascinating study.

How many of us can honestly say we ABHOR that which is evil

(Romans 12:9). In this day when the Satanic notions of self-love and self-esteem are being passed off as Christian concepts, how many will sincerely declare I ABHOR myself, and repent in

dust and ashes (Job 42:6).

It is all but impossible for men and women of this latter day to believe that the God who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to die that He might redeem man from all iniquity is capable of such emotions. Yet the word of God proclaims the wicked…the covetous…the LORD ABHOR-

RETH (Psalms 10:3).

When the Bible declares that men abhor the Lord, it is stating they shrink back with shuddering from God. When the scriptures record that men abhorred the statutes of the Lord, we learn by checking the definition of the word that they regarded God’s commandments with horror, detestation, and excessive repugnance. When those who crucified the Lord Jesus are said to be the ABHORRED of the Lord (Psalms 22:24) they are thus declared the objects of His extreme hatred.

It is no wonder that men and women who have invented

their own standard of holiness, their own selfish religion and a god made after their own image (all the while calling it Christianity), feel compelled to alter the words of the Holy Bible.

Abhor is much too strong for such persons.

Abhor, abhorred, abhorrest, all have numerous references.

3. ABHORRING

This is the object of abhorrence.

And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the

men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall

THE DEFINITIONS / 27

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not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be

an ABHORRING unto all flesh (Isaiah 66:24).

4. ADAM

The name of the first man in the Bible is the Hebrew word for man, deriving from adama, which means “earth.” In like manner, the Latin humanus, our human, is related to the Latin humus, “earth.” The first man is of the earth, earthy.

Numerous references.

5. ADDER

While this word can be used for any serpent, its strict definition is to a venomous serpent. This is its meaning in Biblical usage.

Many English words have changed over the years because of lazy or quick pronunciation. Adder was originally nadder, but starting in the 14th century its “n” began to become part of the article “a”, making “an adder” out of “a nadder.” (Much the same thing happened to the tool, “an auger”, during the same time, the item formerly being “a nauger.”)

This change is most interesting. The German otter, the New High German natter, the Cornish naddyr, Icelandic nathair, and Latin natrix from nare, all carry with them the idea of swimming. So while the land variety of adder is in view in each usage in the word of God, we are encouraged to see these creatures as a type of the poisonous serpent who swims in the deep.

See Genesis 49:17, Psalms 58:4; 91:13, Proverbs 23:32.

6. AGATE

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28 READER’S GUIDE TO THE KING JAMES BIBLE

And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with

cunning work;…And thou shalt set in it settings of

stones…And the third row a ligure, an AGATE, and an

amethyst (Exodus 28:15-19).

This is the first of many cases where the definition includes several unfamiliar words. Agate is a semi-pellucid,

uncrystallized variety of quartz, presenting various tense bands in the same specimen. Its colors are delicately arranged in stripes or bands or blended in clouds.

Now let me ask you something. How could you faithfully translate that word AND make it understandable to the masses?

If you described the rock so men who are not expert in geology could understand it, you would not be rendering a proper translation of the text. This illustrates the point made in our preface. Leave the Bible alone and look up the word.

Here’s how the New Galaxy Version will have to read, “In the third row a ligure, and a rock you can kind of see through, though not real well, but some light does pass through it and it sort of flakes and chips or peels off into little flakes like scales off a fish.” Now that would be a Bible people could understand!

I don’t want one. The chapter on the breastplate of the high priest would be fifteen pages long.

The agate derives its name from the small river, Agates in Sicily, in whose bed the gem was first discovered.

It is formed in the hollows and clefts of eruptive rocks.

These become filled with silicic acid which crystallizes when the water vaporizes.

Frequently, when hollows in such rocks were not entirely filled, even after extended periods, small, beautiful columns of rock (crystal and amethyst) developed in the available space.

The bands of colors are the edges of deposits of silica left in layers. These deposits build up over time, the deposits being supplied intermittently. They come to rest in irregular cavities in rocks. The concentric waving courses in the specimen are the result of the irregularities of the walls of the cavity in which it was formed. Hollows filled with such crystals are called geodes.

THE DEFINITIONS / 29

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The interesting thing about agate is that it has different tints and colors in the same specimen. Normally it is beautifully lined and layered. Such a lined pattern develops when layer after layer, each of a different color, is deposited on top of the previous one. The result is a fantastic display of colors by the different layers.

This is called rhythmic crystallization. For instance: first a yellow band, then a thicker band of brown or gray, always in a surprising harmony.

This stone has long drawn the attention of heretics. Some ancients saw it a symbol of the “third eye.” Swendenborg saw in it the symbol of the spiritual love of good. Kozminsky (1922), Kunz (1913) and Edgar Cayce (1976) sought to convince the naïve that this stone had various protective qualities.

See also Exodus 39:12 and Ezekiel 27:16.

7. AGUE

This is a chilliness or a chill, a state of shaking of cold though in ordinary health. It is an intermittent fever attended by alternate cold and hot fits.

It is one of the sore judgments God promised to send upon His people if they failed to obey His commandments.

I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you

terror, consumption, and the burning AGUE, that shall

consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow

your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it (Leviticus 26:16).

A burning fever that produces violent chills would be a terror indeed. Notice from the definition that one is in “ordinary health.” In other words, a doctor could not find a cause for this ailment because the problem is spiritual.

8. ALABASTER

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Matthew 26:7, Mark 14:3 and Luke 7:37 all tell the tale of a woman bringing an alabaster box filled with precious ointment wherewith to worship the Lord Jesus.

Alabaster is a variety of gypsum. Its name comes from the Greek alabastos, which in turn is said to come from the name of an ancient Egyptian town where it was found.

The substance is often white and translucent, and for this reason alabaster has also come to mean smooth and white, as in

“her alabaster skin.”

9. ALBEIT

I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it:

ALBEIT I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even

thine own self besides (Philemon 19).

This word is supposed to be a compound of all, be, and it, and is equivalent to be it so. It may also mean to admit or grant.

In some contexts it will be used in place of although or notwithstanding.

See also Ezekiel 13:7.

10. ALMUG

King Solomon made use of the almug trees of Ophir in the building of pillars for the house of the Lord (1 Kings 10:11-12) but there has been much dispute over the type of tree referred to in the passage. Rather than translate or transliterate the word and admit they did not know its meaning, the Vulgate and Septuagint change the word to “wrought-wood.” The Rabbis decided it was coral. Lockyer (Nelson’s Bible Dictionary) and Smith in his Bible Dictionary cite the view of tradition that we are dealing with the red sandalwood “dark outside and red or garnet within.”

But Davis cites Josephus and says the almug resembles wood of THE DEFINITIONS / 31

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a fir tree but is whiter and shines more. So, obviously, there is no agreement.

The same tree is spelled outside scripture as algum. Most conjecture that it is used to denote gummy or resinous wood in general. There is good reason to believe that this is the case.

Antiquities can be found where the word is rendered almug, almugim, algumim or gummim. This variety of spellings lends credence to the idea that any gummy wood is probably the meaning.

In fact, 2 Chronicles 2:8 tells of Solomon instructing the king of Tyre: Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and ALGUM

trees, out of Lebanon. And 1 Kings 10:11 says And the navy

also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from

Ophir great plenty of ALMUG trees. Seeming to underscore the idea that

a.) there are a variety of spellings for this particular tree, or b.) there are a variety of trees designated thus. For example to speak of a pine tree would mean many different trees to people from different parts of the United States.

One writer says the almug is “a fine close-grained wood suitable for carving, possibly sandal wood from the east.” This seems, however, to be an assumption based upon the use made of the wood by Solomon.

11. AMERCE

Amerce is a transient verb with a French background and concerns wages and penalty. The French word merci we know as mercy, and the prefix a, meaning no, is added. Thus, once one is amerced there is no mercy. Full payment has to be made.

The French prefix a also may be a form of on or at, which would leave the word “at mercy.” This also applies to the Biblical usage, for “to amerce” differs from “to fine”; a fine being a fixed sum or penalty for a certain crime, an amercement being meted out at the discretion of the court.

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So to amerce is to punish by pecuniary penalties, the amount of which is not fixed by law but left to the mercy of the court.

One would say, “The court amerced the criminal in the sum of $100.”

Amerce can also be used as “to punish in general”. It is most commonly used for a fine or penalty of no fixed or set amount until the judge, or whoever is conducting the trial, fixes and sets the amount.

In Deuteronomy 22, a man has taken a wife. After the

activities of the wedding night he charges that the girl was not chaste. Contrary to modern thought, if such were true it would bring shame upon the girl and her father and mother. If such a charge were false, the parents of the girl were to bring the evidence that she was a virgin until her wedding night and present such before the elders of the city.

And the elders of that city shall take that man (who falsely charged the girl) and chastise him; And they shall AMERCE

him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the

father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name

upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not

put her away all his days (Deuteronomy 22:18-19).

Many of these words can be discerned by their surrounding context.

12. AMETHYST

Here is another gem-stone. This is a sub-species of quartz, pellucid (a see-through type stone), of a bluish-violet color. The beauty of its color makes it the most sought after stone in the quartz group. The color will differ in degrees of intensity throughout the same specimen.

The amethyst generally occurs crystallized in hexagonal prisms, terminated by corresponding pyramids, but also occurs in rolled fragments composed of imperfect prismatic crystals.

THE DEFINITIONS / 33

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Its fracture is conchodal (like a conch or marine shell) or splintered.

It is wrought in various articles of jewelry and is a beautiful stone, almost purple in its appearance. It is most likely that a trace of manganese gives it the purplish coloration.

Since the amethyst was the ninth stone on the breastplate of the high priest, Satan sought to give it a bit of a twist. Early mystics associated it with the ninth celestial mansion, Sagittarius.

The Rosicrucians saw in the amethyst and the amethystine color a symbol of the divine male sacrifice, since to them the stone and the color were typical of love, passion and suffering. One must always keep in mind that cults and false religions have nothing new to offer. They simply pervert God’s truth. During His passion, the man Christ Jesus shed His precious blood, and the chief cornerstone was wearing a purple robe.

The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh,

chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a

chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an

AMETHYST (Revelation 21:20).

See also Exodus 28:19; 39:12.

13. AMIABLE

How AMIABLE are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!

(Psalms 84:1).

Taken from a French word meaning “friendly or lovely”, amiable has been carried into English meaning “worthy of love; deserving of affection; lovely or lovable.” It is usually applied to persons, but the lone Biblical usage has to do with the dwelling place of God.

14. ANON

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This is a so-called archaic word. Since this is the first such word we have come across, let me take this time to discuss archaic.

An archaic word is one that is ancient OR obsolete.

Obsolete means “neglected or disused.” The true Christian reads every word of the Bible. The true minister teaches every word of the Bible. The Holy Spirit applies every word of the Bible. The Lord’s judgments are based upon every word of the Bible. This being the case, there are no archaic words in the Authorized Version.

Ancient means “old.” Since our English Bible was

translated and produced many centuries ago, there isn’t one word in the Authorized Version that is not an archaic word.

Dear reader, you cannot pick and choose. Either all the words are archaic, or none of them are archaic. THE ENTIRE

VOLUME STANDS OR FALLS TOGETHER.

How odd that a man and his friends sit upon antique

furniture in a study surrounded by a collection of old books, listen to classical music which is hundreds of years out of date, play “the sport of kings” on great-grandfather’s chess board and criticize the Holy Bible because it contains a dozen old words which are no longer used in common speech!!

Anon simply means “quickly, immediately, or right away.”

But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and ANON

they tell him of her (Mark 1:30).

See also Matthew 13:20.

15. ASP

The modern reader wonders why this word is not changed to snake or serpent. By changing the word one would lose the truth.

An asp is a small, hooded and poisonous serpent. All snakes are not hooded or poisonous. All asps are hooded and poisonous.

THE DEFINITIONS / 35

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In addition, the asp is a particular species which is found in Egypt and Libya and whose bite is fatal.

To change the word would not only alter the truth but

destroy the cross references linking the killing serpent and the two nations holding long-standing enmity toward Israel.

When this hatred is all past, the millennial day will dawn,

And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the ASP, and

the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den

(Isaiah 11:8).

16. ASSAY

Assay means “to attempt, to try, to endeavor.” One could easily deduce the meaning of this word from the verse in which it is found. If we ASSAY to commune with thee, wilt thou be

grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking? (Job 4:2).

Assayed: Deuteronomy 4:34; 1 Samuel 17:39; Acts 9:26; 16:7. Assaying: Hebrews 11:29.

17. ASSWAGE – ASSWAGED

But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the

moving of my lips should ASSWAGE your grief. Though I

speak, my grief is not ASSWAGED: and though I forbear, what

am I eased? (Job 16:5-6).

What is interesting about this word is that the spelling in the Bible text differs from that of the dictionary (the A.V. translators leaning toward the Saxon and Webster leaning toward the Dutch origins of the word).

The word means “to abate” (see above) or “to subside”, but it also means “to soften.”

Now watch how careful attention to the ENGLISH words

opens up the Bible. In Genesis 8 the waters of the flood 36 /

36 READER’S GUIDE TO THE KING JAMES BIBLE

asswaged (v. 1), returned (v. 3), decreased (v. 5), were dried up

from off (v. 7) and were abated (v. 8). This is not vain repetition or men playing with Roget’s Thesaurus.

The waters were softened (v. 1), i.e. the molecules began to break down in the process known as evaporation. They returned to the place from whence they had come. This meant a decrease in the depth of the waters, resulting in the drying UP (the waters ascended heavenward) off of the face of the earth. There was an abatement of the waters of the flood, though not a complete removal (v. 8).

None of that can be found in a Hebrew text or a modern version. But a STUDY of the English Bible will yield rich rewards.

18. ASTONIED

The old English, French, Latin and German languages all carry closely related forms of this word meaning “to thunder at, to stun, to terrify.”

This word, in the King’s English, means “to stun, to amaze, to astonish in such a way as to strike one dumb with sudden fear or terror.” We might say one is so frightened he has turned to a stone or become astonied.

The expression “thunderstruck” comes from this same root and is a nearly identical synonym.

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was ASTONIED, and rose

up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not

we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They

answered and said unto the king, True, O king (Daniel 3:24).

Numerous other references.

19. AVERSE

Averse means “turned away backward” or, as a transient verb, “to turn away.” It may also mean “disliking; unwilling; having repugnance or opposition of mind.”

THE DEFINITIONS / 37

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It is a synonym of adverse and reluctant. It expresses a habitual, though not necessarily strong, dislike; such as averse to cleanliness.

Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off

the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as

men AVERSE from war (Micah 2:8).

The word and its derivatives are always followed by to in modern English, but formerly from was frequently used. The word averse includes the idea of from; but the literal meaning of the word being lost (see Appendix E), the word signifies the affection of the mind exerted toward the object of the dislike.

20. AUL

We come to a little tool, commonly spelled awl. This is a pointed instrument for piercing small holes as in leather or in wood. It is used most commonly by shoemakers. Picture William Carey at his cobbler’s bench making a hole in a piece of leather for a shoe lace to pass through. He’ll be using an aul.

In scripture this tool was used to bore a hole in the ear of a freed slave who chose to remain in his master’s house and to serve him all the days of his life. And if the servant shall plainly

say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go

out free: Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he

shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his

master shall bore his ear through with an AUL; and he shall

serve him for ever (Exodus 21:5-6).

I wonder how many women know the symbolism of the

pierced-ear? And what of the “men” who have now adopted the practice?

See also Deuteronomy 15:17.

21. AUSTERE

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38 READER’S GUIDE TO THE KING JAMES BIBLE

This word is familiar to most Bible readers because it is found in a memorable passage. Yet, few take the time to find out what charge was being made against Christ Jesus.

In Luke 19:21-22 we read: For I feared thee, because thou

art an AUSTERE man: thou takest up that thou layedst not

down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto

him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked

servant. Thou knewest that I was an AUSTERE man, taking

up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow.

The word means “severe in modes of judging, or living, or acting; rigid, stern, as an austere look or an austere life.” Its synonyms are rough, rigid, severe, rigorous.

Many people had, and still have, this perception of Jesus Christ. Those who have the heart to submit to Him according to His word have found His severity to be for their well being, His stern demeanor necessary to keep them from the sin which doth so easily beset them, and His rigid judgments a perfect answer for the world of compromise which would toss them to and fro with every wind of doctrine.

22. AXLETREES

You may not be familiar with this tree. Perhaps you wonder where it grows, what type of root stock it comes from or how its leaves are shaped.

But an axletree is a fixed, transverse bar of wood or iron supporting a carriage on the rounded ends of which the opposite wheels revolve. Think of the covered wagons crossing the American plains. Their big wheels were built upon axletrees.

Since spoked-wheels have gone out of style the branches of the axletree are no longer evident. Hence, today we simply say axle.

And under the borders were four wheels; and the

AXLETREES of the wheels were joined to the base: and the

height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit. And the work of

the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: the

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AXLETREES, and their naves, and their felloes, and their

spokes, were all molten (1 Kings 7:32-33).

23. BAD

While this word, its meaning and its usage are familiar to most, the history of the word is interesting enough to merit a paragraph or two.

Bad is defined as “wanting good qualities, whether physical or moral; injurious, hurtful, inconvenient, offensive, painful, unfavorable, or defective, whether physically or morally.”

Obviously, bad is not good.

Now, most major dictionaries, including the Oxford English, hold that bad derives from the Middle English badde, meaning the same as our bad. Badde, in turn, most probably derived as a back formation (altering a word by dropping rear syllables, e.g., zoo from zoological garden) from the Old English baeddel meaning “hermaphrodite,” and baeddling meaning “effeminate man” or “sodomite.”

This would explain why there aren’t many early written examples of the word, which is first recorded circa 1300. By that time bad had almost entirely lost its homosexual connotation, but it still retains the sense of “evil misbehavior.”

Numerous references.

24. BDELLIUM

Though frequently mistranslated as “pearl”, this is a gummy, resinous substance produced by an oriental tree or shrub. It is externally of dark brown color, but internally it is clear and not unlike glue in appearance. It is slightly bitter and pungent to the taste but has an agreeable odor.

When taken into the mouth it will stick to the teeth. On a hot iron it will easily flame. Bdellium burns with a crackling noise.

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The plant was found in Havilah; And the gold of that land is

good: there is the BDELLIUM and the onyx stone (Genesis 2:12), and the manna resembled its byproduct (Numbers 11:7).

Bdellium has been used as a perfume and a medicine, being a weak deobstruent (removing obstructions; having power to clear or open the natural ducts of the fluids and secretions of the body).

Can you name any other English words beginning with the double consonant bd?

25. BELIED

Belied means “to show to be false; to convict of or charge with falsehood; to give a false representation or account of; to tell lies concerning; to calumniate by false reports; to slander.”

What a grievous charge this makes of Jeremiah 5:12: They

have BELIED the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall

evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine. Men were actually calling God a liar.

When men deny the certainty of the literal judgments God has pronounced, they claim He is (be - present state) lying. The Ebonic phrase “you be lyin’” is, thus, remarkably close to the King James English.

26. BERYL

This is a true mineral of great hardness and, when

transparent, of much beauty. It is the name of a family of stones occurring in green or bluish-green six-sided prisms and consists of silica, alumina, and the rare-earth glucina. It is identical with the emerald, except in color; the emerald being colored by oxide of chrome and the beryl by oxide of iron.

The beryl when transparent is set as a gem and often called aquamarine, but this in incorrect. The aquamarine is in the beryl group but is pale to dark blue in color; the darker the more THE DEFINITIONS / 41

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valuable. The beryl exhibits a vitreous (derived from, consisting of, or resembling glass), but sometimes resinous, luster. It is an ore of baryllium, is as light as magnesium and it is used in alloys of copper and in atomic research.

The true beryl may have a gold tint, and this is most

certainly the one referred to in Daniel 10:6: His body also was

like the BERYL, and his face as the appearance of lightning,

and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in

colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the

voice of a multitude.

In ancient Rome beryls were used during circus

performances as a kind of opera-glass. This gave the Germans their word for spectacles: brille.

In the middle ages it was thought that beryl would render the wearer unconquerable, quicken his intellect, and cure him of laziness. How sad that men would trust dead stones to accomplish what only the Living Stone can do.

27. BESOM

This is a brush of twigs used for sweeping. We would call it a broom, but why change the Bible when you can broaden your vocabulary?

The lone use of the word in the Bible is in Isaiah 14:23, I

will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of

water: and I will sweep it with the BESOM of destruction, saith

the Lord of hosts.

Washington Irving is a writer of many works which have come to be called classics. While I find his short stories most interesting, his novels are tedious, and The Alhambra makes Hyslop’s The Two Babylons seem exciting. Irving mentions the besom in his stories, yet I don’t recall ever hearing anyone call for the revision and updating of Washington Irving.

It is strange how secular literature with archaic words is

“classic”, but a Bible with such words is “outdated.”

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28. BESTEAD

The prefix “be” gives us the same word as “by.” It denotes nearness, closeness, about, on, at, and generally has intensive force, though it is sometimes apparently insignificant.

A stead is a place; for example, a homestead.

Bestead is to place, to dispose, or a circumstance relating to condition.

In the verse at hand the people were placed in hard

circumstances: And they shall pass through it, hardly

BESTEAD and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when

they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their

king and their God, and look upward (Isaiah 8:21).

29. BETIMES

This word means “in good season or time; before it is late; seasonably; soon.”

He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth

him chasteneth him BETIMES (Proverbs 13:24).

With the thought police and the family-hating “children’s advocates” aside, the loving God says that a loving parent will use the rod in good season before it is too late.

The secondary definition of betimes is “at any time.” Any time improper behavior or attitudes need correcting is a good time to administer loving scriptural discipline.

Numerous other references.

30-31. BETWIXT – BETWEEN

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Though the difference may be slight, these are not the same word. Both are Saxon prepositions, but they come from different roots.

Betwixt

denotes

the space that separates two persons or

things (e.g. Genesis 32:16) or the exchange between two persons (e.g. (Job 9:33). The emphasis is not on the two being separated but on the separation.

Between includes these meanings, but can be used more

broadly for a common partnership, mutual relation or accord. In addition, between may have a negative twist, never connected with betwixt, such as the difference between contending parties.

32. BEWRAYETH

And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and

said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech

BEWRAYETH thee (Matthew 26:73).

This means “to show, to make visible, to disclose.”

Do not mistake this word for betray. They are synonyms and are often used interchangeably, but they are two entirely different words.

When you betray you disclose by telling. When you bewray you disclose by showing; by doing something observable.

Judas betrayed Jesus by telling the Lord’s enemies when and where He might be found. Peter did not tell those surrounding the fire that he was one of Jesus’ disciples but they observed this by his speech. His speech bewrayed him. Aren’t you glad you have a Bible which notes details with such exactness?!

See also Isaiah 16:3; Proverbs 27:16; 29:24.

33. BLAINS

This is an inflammatory swelling, a sore, a pesterer, or a blister. Simple enough.

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And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to

you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it

toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. And it shall become

small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking

forth with BLAINS upon man, and upon beast, throughout all

the land of Egypt (Exodus 9:8-9).

Men argue with the Bible because it doesn’t use everyday terms for medical maladies; yet, they visit doctors and pharmacists whose specialized vocabulary is unintelligible to those outside the medical society.

A blain is also a bladder growing at the root of the tongue, or against the windpipe, which swells so as to stop the breath. As the verse above says upon man, it seems the former definition is the correct one, but as gifts and judgments are both said, in Biblical terminology, to come from God upon man, this second condition is possibly what the Egyptians suffered.

34. BOISTEROUS

Why do we read over these words, content to get the story without the details? Is it so important that we read our three-chapters-a-day when we are not truly searching the scriptures?

The word is used in Matthew 14 in the account of a storm which had come upon the disciples. During this storm Jesus came walking on the water and bid Peter to do likewise. But

when he saw the wind BOISTEROUS, he was afraid; and

beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me (Matthew 14:30).

Boisterous means “exhibiting tumultuous violence and fury, acting with noisy turbulence, violent and rough, involving threatening violence, associated with violence, indicating or possessing might, strong and powerful.”

Now this is important, for violence is to assault or injure.

By searching out the definition of boisterous we learn that the storm of Matthew 14 is like unto the ones of Job 1. It has THE DEFINITIONS / 45

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been sent by an intelligent being for the express purpose of hurting the disciples.

That Jesus walked atop such a storm speaks not only of His dominion over the wind and waves but over their hateful source.

35. BOLLED

All those from the land of cotton (old times there are not forgotten) know of the boll weevil. This is not “bowl” weevil, i.e. bugs in the bowl, though “bowl” and “boll” are quite similar.

It is an insect that destroys the boll.

Boll is a seed vessel of flax, the husk or hull enclosing the flax seed (hence the Biblical use of bowels for the enclosure housing the bodily organs). So the weevil that destroys the pod or capsule of a plant is a boll weevil.

Whether by insects or by weather or by the word of His power, God smote the crops of Egypt because Pharaoh would not let His people go. He did so by destroying the standing grain.

And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was

in the ear, and the flax was BOLLED (Exodus 9:31).

That the flax was bolled would indicate the heads were full, meaning harvest time was near. This plague meant at least a year of hunger for the Egyptians.

36. BOLSTER

This is a long pillow used to support the head of persons lying on a bed. It is usually laid under a number of smaller pillows.

And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a

pillow of goats’ hair for his BOLSTER, and covered it with a

cloth (1 Samuel 19:13, see also verse 16).

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37. BOOTIES

No, these are not little baby shoes, but thanks for raising the point. When one gives a child its every desire and makes haste to respond to its every whim, we say that the child is being spoiled. To be spoiled originally meant to take away all one possessed. This reversal of meaning carries an interesting truth, undetected by most who use the term.

It was the ruin of peoples and villages to have all their hard earned possessions taken away. Hence, they were spoiled. It is the ruin of a man to be filled with possessions which were not hard earned. Thus, to say one is spoiling the child is to use a modern meaning, but one not worthy of a spot in our appendix on The Degeneration of the English Language.

Now, back to booties. Booty is the sum total that which is seized by violence and robbery, especially spoils taken in war; plunder; pillage. Booties are the individual items which make up the booty.

Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and

awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for BOOTIES unto

them? (Habakkuk 2:7).

38. BOSSES

Boss comes from the German words “butz” or “butzen,”

meaning something cloddy or stumpy and “bozo” meaning tuft or bunch. (Yes, Bozo the Clown does sport remarkable tufts of hair, but we cannot prove any connection.)

A boss is a protuberant (sticks out beyond the surrounding surface) ornament on any work, either of different material from that of the work or of the same, as upon a bridle, harness, shield, etc. It is a stud or a knob.

He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick

BOSSES of his bucklers: (Job 15:26).

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39. BOTCH

A botch is a swelling ON the skin; a large, ulcerous

affection; a patch or part of a garment patched or mended in a clumsy manner; worked on in a bungling manner; a clumsy performance.

While we commonly use the word in accordance with the

definitions at the end of the list (He sure botched that job.), the biblical use of the word matches the first definition.

The Lord will smite thee with the BOTCH of Egypt, and

with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof

thou canst not be healed. The Lord shall smite thee in the

knees, and in the legs, with a sore BOTCH that cannot be

healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head

(Deuteronomy 28:27, 35).

The botch of Egypt was not the poor job the Hebrews did in building Pharaoh’s treasure cities but is a skin problem. An ulcer is a soft spot where acids have eaten a hole through the skin tissue. A botch is such an ulcer or hole on the outer skin. This reminds us of a cancer where the body is actually being eaten away. Now read the verses above a second time. What a dreadful punishment!

39. BRANDISH

When the Lord said He would brandish His sword (Ezekiel 32:10) He spoke of an awesome display of power. The word means to move or wave; to raise, and move in various directions; to shake or flourish. The gesture is intended to threaten.

40. BRAY

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Here is an interesting word, for it is used twice in the word of God, but with two very different meanings.

In Proverbs 27:22 we read, Though thou shouldest BRAY a fool

in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his

foolishness depart from him.

Perhaps you can call to mind the shop of the apothecary and the symbol of the small bowl inside of which the pharmacist grinds various ingredients into medicine. This act of beating or grinding is to bray.

The word is taken from the Icelandic word “braka,” which means “to pound, beat or grind small.” Our word break may be similar or related.

The other occurrence of the word is in Job 6:5 where it is used for the harsh cry or grating sound of the common donkey.

Doth the wild ass BRAY when he hath grass? Or loweth the ox

over his fodder?

The use of brayed in Job 30:7 is a form of the latter definition.

41. BRIGANDINE

This is a coat of mail consisting of thin-jointed scales of plate. It is pliant and easy to the body.

Most readers will have seen pictures of this, as such body armor was worn well into medieval times. This is not the pot-bellied stove worn by mounted knights but the form-fitting coat of mail that fits like scales right up against the body of the man.

Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and

against him that lifteth himself up in his BRIGANDINE: and

spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host

(Jeremiah 51:3).

See also Jeremiah 46:4.

42. BRUIT

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Pronounced “brute”, this is to report rumor or to noise abroad. It tends to imply a rustle or roar or rattle. It is used as both a noun and a verb.

In Nahum 3:19 we read: There is no healing of thy bruise;

thy wound is grievous: all that hear the BRUIT of thee shall

clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy

wickedness passed continually?

Billy Shakespeare used the word, and no one is crying for a revision of his silly plays. (The world will love its own.) The very men who make the most of “literary masterpieces” hold the Master’s piece in contempt. To this day, Barabbas is the overwhelming choice of the multitude.

43. BUCKLER

This is a kind of shield or a piece of defensive armor. It was composed of wood, or wicker, woven together. It would then be covered with skin or leather, fortified with plates of brass or other metal.

It was worn on the lesser arm, i.e. the one not wielding a weapon.

On the middle of the device was a boss (see above) or

prominence, which was very useful in causing stones and darts to glance off.

While a shield could vary in size and was usually small for use in protecting the torso or head, a buckler was about four feet long and covered the whole body.

See 2 Samuel 22:31, etc.

44. CALAMUS

Here we come to the second of our botanical words.

Calamus is the Indian cane, which is a reed-like plant. It is a 50 /

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member of the palm family and furnishes the common rattan canes that are used as walking sticks or split for seating in chairs.

Rattan furniture is made from the calamus plant.

The plants could be purchased at the open-air markets in Tyrus. Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy

fairs: bright iron, cassia, and CALAMUS, were in thy market

(Ezekiel 27:19).

There is another calamus, that is a species of acorus, which is commonly called “sweet flag.” It, too, is a type of reed or cane. Its root has a pungent, aromatic taste, and is used in medicine as a stomachic (a medicine that strengthens the stomach and excites its action). The leaves also have an aromatic odor and were strewn on floors in order to perfume the house. This is most likely the type of calamus referred to in Exodus 30:23 ( sweet calamus) and Song of Solomon 4:14.

There is a third type of calamus. It grows in Sumatra and Borneo, the fruit of which produces a resinous matter. This resin is traded under the name of dragon’s blood. Its color is red or dark-brownish-red, and it is used chiefly for tinting varnishes and staining marble.

It is far better to be washed in the blood of Jesus than stained with the blood of a dragon.

45. CALKER

This is one who caulks, that is, a person who seals up seams as of a ship or vessel of some sort to keep it from leaking water.

Many readers have put caulk around the sink or windows or bathtub in their home. Though our modern spelling has an added vowel (caulk), it is the same word.

But a calker is also a calk or pointed iron on a horseshoe.

Thus “to calk,” in the transient form of the verb, is “to furnish shoes with sharp points of iron to prevent their slipping on ice.”

As a noun it’s an instrument with sharp points worn on the sole of the shoe or boot to, again, prevent slipping on the ice.

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So a calker is the one who fills the seams of ships or who puts sharp pieces of iron on shoes for man or horse.

Tyrus, the commercial city by the sea, had a number of ship-yards which employed those who would caulk sea-going vessels.

The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee

thy CALKERS: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were

in thee to occupy thy merchandise. Thy riches, and thy fairs,

thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy CALKERS,

and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war,

that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of

thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin

(Ezekiel 27:9, 27).

46. CAMPHIRE

This is not something you sit around roasting hot dogs and telling stories. What we have here is an old spelling of our word camphor, (the pronunciation is the same, see Appendix J) which is a beautiful tree. This tree has bare limbs, its leaves all being congregated on the very end of its branches. It gives off a strange, though pleasant, odor which is a natural insect repellent.

The enraptured one of the Song of Solomon declares, My

beloved is unto me as a cluster of CAMPHIRE in the vineyard

of Engedi (Song 1:14). I doubt this means her boy-friend kept the bugs away, but that he was pleasant, like a gentle, lingering perfume. The compliment is returned in 4:13: Thy plants are an

orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; CAMPHIRE,

with spikenard.

47. CARBUNCLE

Here is another word from the world of geology.

Carbuncle is taken from the Latin, “carbuncleus,” which means “a little coal.” It is a lovely gem of a deep red color with a mixture of scarlet. It is called “anthrax” by the Greeks and is found in the East Indies.

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When pure, it is of an angular figure adhering to a heavy ferruginous (partaking of iron, containing particles of iron) stone of the emory kind. Its ordinary size is ¼ to slightly over ½ of an inch.

When held up to the sun it loses its deep tinge and becomes exactly the color of a live, burning coal. It is quite a sight to behold. What beauty it must have given to the breastplate of judgment. And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four

rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a

CARBUNCLE: this shall be the first row (Exodus 28:17).

The name was used in ancient and middle ages for any

cabochon-cut red stone, especially the red garnet.

48. CASSIA

Here is another botanical word. This is a plant of the genus leguminous, of any species, most of which have purgative qualities.

Legumes are plants which pull nitrogen from the air and, by dispensing it through their root systems, place it into the ground, thus building and strengthening the soil.

The cassia is a type of legume which yields medicines of varying strength depending upon the size, type and species of the plant. Among them are varieties producing the senna used in many medicines.

A species of cassia called “laurus,” the bark of which usually passes under the name of “cinnamon,” is different from real cinnamon, chiefly in the strength of its qualities.

The perfume of cassia will be one of the sweet odors given off by the wedding garment of the Bridegroom of the church. All

thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and CASSIA, out of

the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad (Psalms 45:8).

Have you begun to notice that we are not really dealing with old-fashioned words? Instead we are finding that the scriptures THE DEFINITIONS / 53

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cover a wide variety of fields, and while most of its readers have a knowledge of one or two particular areas of life, the word of God touches upon them all. The fact that the average reader lacks a working knowledge of botany and agriculture is no reason to rewrite the scriptures. Rather, let us use our study of the word of God to expand our knowledge of His creation.

See also Exodus 30:24 and Ezekiel 27:19.

49. CAUL

This word comes from the field of anatomy. It is the

membrane covering the greater part of the lower intestine. The word is from the old Anglo-Saxon for basket, as the structure of the membrane resembles such.

And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is

by the flanks, and the CAUL above the liver, with the kidneys, it

shall he take away (Leviticus 3:4).

A caul is also a part of the amnion or membrane enveloping the fetus, which sometimes is around the head of a child at its birth. As a result certain types of hair-nets and tight fitting hats came to be known as cauls.

There was probably a great deal of embarrassment the first time someone said, “Do you know what your hat reminds me of?” But of such slips of the tongue new word-usages are born.

I would like to have been there.

50. CELESTIAL

The word means “belonging or relating to the spiritual heaven; heavenly.”

This is interesting, for in the context of 1 Corinthians 15

there ARE celestial bodies. There are also CELESTIAL bodies,

and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the CELESTIAL is one,

and the glory of the terrestrial is another (1 Corinthians 15:40).

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This present tense statement is made prior to the resurrection of the New Testament church and so cannot be a reference to the glorified bodies promised those born again.

Now the definition reveals that there are heavenly bodies which house that which is spiritual. The Bible tells us that angels are ministering spirits (Hebrews 1:14). Thus, by checking the meaning of a word, instead of skimming over it, we gain a much better insight into the truth. The verse in Corinthians tells us of angelic bodies.

51. CENTURION

Throughout the gospels and the book of Acts we read much of centurions. These were noncommissioned officers of the Roman army, so named because they were in charge of a

century, originally a hundred legionaries. The legionaries were ordinary soldiers, a legion consisting of 3,000 to 6,000 soldiers.

52. CHALCEDONY

Here is yet another beautiful stone. This is an

uncrystallized, translucent variety of quartz. It usually has a whitish color with soft blue tints, and has a luster nearly like wax.

Chalcedony takes its name from the town Chalkedon near the Bosphorus, where it was found and traded.

When chalcedony of different colors is arranged in stripes or layers, it constitutes agate, and if the stripes are all horizontal, it is onyx (which we will discuss below).

And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished

with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was

jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a CHALCEDONY; the

fourth, an emerald; (Revelation 21:19).

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53. CHRYSOPRASUS

We give this out of alphabetical order for the sake of simplicity.

This is a green chalcedony (see above).

Chrysoprasus is a kind of massive quartz, having very little luster. It is somewhat flinty in appearance, and the color is either grayish or leek green. The gardeners among us will recognize the leek as a type of onion. (Words are the key. No vocabulary

= no understanding).

This word is curious, for the dictionary spelling is

chrysoprase, but the men God used to give us the Authorized Version kept the Latin spelling.

For those who are interested, (and who wouldn’t be?)

cornelian is a flesh-red variety of chalcedony and sard is a grayish-red variety. You never know when you’ll need that information.

The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh,

chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a

CHRYSOPRASUS; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an

amethyst (Revelation 21:20).

54. CHAMOIS

We now return to the zoo. The chamois is a species of antelope living on the loftiest mountain ridges of Europe; the Alps, Pyrenees, etc. It possesses remarkable agility in ascending and descending difficult passes and is a favorite object of the hunter’s chase.

The name has attached itself to types of very soft leather, because such leather was first prepared from the skin of this particular animal.

The chamois was clean under the Mosaic law, thus blessed to be eaten by the Hebrews or proselytes to Judaism. These are

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the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,

The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild

goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the CHAMOIS

(Deuteronomy 14:4-5).

55. CHAPITER

From the zoo we go to the carpenter’s shop. A chapiter is the upper part or capital of a column or pillar.

And he made two CHAPITERS of molten brass, to set

upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one CHAPITER

was five cubits, and the height of the other CHAPITER was

five cubits: (1 Kings 7:16).

If you have ever looked closely at the columns in front of a great home, you will have noticed that many of them flair outward at the top and bottom where they attach themselves to foundation or ceiling. This flared portion at the top of the column is the chapiter.

Next time you enter the art museum you may use this bit of knowledge to impress your friends.

56. CHAPMEN

This word, in various forms, has roots in all the European (Japhethic) languages, from the Anglo Saxon ceapman (can you not hear the Ulsterman pronounce it that way today?) to the German kaufmann, a familiar surname. The chapman is one who buys or sells. So in 2 Chronicles 9:14, he is a purchaser for, or seller to, a merchant.

57. CHECKER

Most people don’t know that checkers are found in the

scriptures, but here they are.

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And nets of CHECKER work, and wreaths of chain work,

for the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; seven

for the one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter (1 Kings 7:17).

To checker is “to verigate with cross lines to form into little squares, like a chess-board or, of course, a checker-board, by lines or stripes of different colors.” Thus, a checker, or checker work, is a work varied alternately as to its colors or materials, work consisting of cross lines. This is how the word is used in the Bible, for the ornate decorations found atop the columns in Solomon’s temple.

58. CHIDE

You may recall reading of the children of Israel chiding with Moses. Wherefore the people did CHIDE with Moses, and

said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto

them, Why CHIDE ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the

Lord? (Exodus 17:2).

To chide means to rebuke, to reproach, to blame, to utter words of disapprobation and displeasure, to find fault, to contend angrily. Wow. It is no wonder Moses lost his temper a time or two.

Chode is used in Genesis 31:36 and Numbers 20:3. It is the past tense of chide.

See also Judges 8:1.

59. CHOLER

Here is one of the true rarities. This word is found twice in scripture with reference to the he-goat and the king of the south during the coming time of Jacob’s trouble.

And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved

with CHOLER against him, and smote the ram, and brake his

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two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before

him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon

him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his

hand (Daniel 8:7).

Choler is irritation of the passions, anger, wrath. It is also the bile, and the reason this term is used for the bile and irritation of angry passions is because the bile was formerly believed to be the seat of such emotions, owing to the release of acids into the body.

Before replacing the Holy Bible with a modern version free of an old word like choler let me remind you of cholera morbus, or the sudden evacuation of bile, both upwards and downwards.

Such is better understood by its more common name cholera.

This dreaded disease, which is characterized by vomiting, purging, and gripping spasms, has claimed countless thousands of lives in centuries past. I’ve not heard anyone say they need a new history book because they can’t understand the cholera epidemic.

See also Daniel 11:11.

60. CHRYSOLYTE

Chrysolyte is a mineral composed of silica, magnesia and iron. The name is derived from chrusos, gold, and lithos, stone.

So it is the gold stone. This is misleading, as it actually varies in color from pale green to a bottle green, like the old Coca-Cola bottles (back when they still had cocaine in the formula).

Chrysolyte is a magnesium-iron silicate, the most common of all silicates. It has two distinct methods of occurrence: it is found in igneous rocks that are rich in magnesium and low in quartz, as peridotite, norite, basalt, diabase and gabbro; and it is found as the product of metamorphism of certain sedimentary rocks containing magnesia and silica. It can be found in small grains or in large granular masses. The crystals are relatively THE DEFINITIONS / 59

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rare, though occasionally some have been found up to several inches long. It exhibits the luster and fracture of glass.

This stone is somewhat hard to identify, but only because it has been given different names by different branches of rock scientists. Geologists call the stone “olivine” and gemologists refer to it as “peridot.” Technically, the gem peridot is cut from a clear variety of olivine, and both may be called chrysolyte.

These peridots were already known 3500 years ago. The oldest source is the island of Zabargad in the Red Sea.

The crusaders brought these stones home with them from Palestine.

The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh,

CHRYSOLYTE; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth,

a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an

amethyst (Revelation 21:20).

Agatharcides said the Serpent Isle, in the Red Sea, was the source of the chrysolyte and reported that by the mandate of Egyptian kings the inhabitants collected specimens of this stone for polishing.

In the occult world chrysolyte is set in gold and worn to protect one from the dangers of the night. Unfortunately, these deluded souls did not consult Exodus to confirm the validity of the practice, or they would have known the Egyptian kings fared poorly against the terror by night.

61-62. CHURL – CHURLISH

The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the

CHURL said to be bountiful. The instruments also of the

CHURL are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor

with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right (Isaiah 32:5, 7).

Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his

wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and

of a beautiful countenance: but the man was CHURLISH and

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evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb (1 Samuel 25:3).

This word is taken from the Anglo-Saxon “ceorl,” which was a freeman of the lowest rank. All those who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as personal savior are free men, but some are, indeed, of the lowest rank.

A churl is, by definition, a rough, surly, ill-bred, miserly man. It is plain that a churl walks after the flesh.

He is rough, when the fruit of the Spirit is gentleness. He is surly, which means gloomy, sour, abrupt and rude. How unlike the Spiritual man who is filled with joy, happiness, patience and kindness. He is ill-bred, which indicates that the characteristics of his natural birth are outstanding while those of his new birth are very seldom manifest. He is miserly, whereas the man in love with Jesus is freely giving of his means to further the gospel and to support those who proclaim its truth.

Churlish paints an equally unattractive picture. Like churl it means rude and surly but also illiberal (which is like unto miserly), and wanting pliancy or softness, unmanageable, unyielding.

It is almost impossible to assist a churlish man in spiritual growth. He will not yield to the word of God, nor to the kindness of man. Such a one cannot be governed by the Holy Spirit. He will despise dominion and be unable to speak a kind word to or about those the Lord has entrusted with of the local church oversight.

When a churlish man shows up in a local church you can’t miss him…unfortunately.

63. CIRCUMSPECT

One who is circumspect is attentive to all the circumstances of a case. He is cautious, prudent, watchful, wary, vigilant.

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understands full well all the fruits, wages or results of any act or deed.

And in all things that I have said unto you be

CIRCUMSPECT: and make no mention of the name of other

gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth (Exodus 23:13).

See then that ye walk CIRCUMSPECTLY, not as fools, but

as wise (Ephesians 5:15).

64. CLEMENCY

This is a mildness of temper, a gentleness of disposition, to treat with favor and kindness, or to forgive and spare such as have offended.

The last of these definitions is the one with which we are most familiar. We hear of a convicted killer asking clemency from the governor that his life might be spared.

Paul used the word when he was trying to get on “the good side” of Felix. Notwithstanding, that I be not further tedious

unto thee, I pray thee that thou wouldest hear us of thy

CLEMENCY a few words (Acts 24:4).

65. CLOUTED

Clout is a piece of cloth or leather used to fill up or cover a hole or any other purpose. It is a patch. If something is clouted it is patched.

In Joshua 9 when the Gibeonites sought to deceive Joshua into thinking they had journeyed far: They did work wilily, and

went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old

sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and

bound up; And old shoes and CLOUTED upon their feet, and

old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision

was dry and mouldy (Joshua 9:4-5).

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This means their shoes were covered with cloth or leather or some other material so as to give them the appearance of having been worn out by long travel.

Next time you tear a hole in the knee of your favorite jeans, take them to your wife and ask her to clout them for you. Or perhaps you are afraid you don’t carry enough clout.

See also Jeremiah 38:11-12.

66. COCKATRICE

This is another name for the basilisk. I doubt that helps much. Basilisk means “little king.” It is a fabulous serpent which derives its name from prominences on its head which resemble a crown.

This genus of reptiles belongs to the family of lizards known as Iguandae. This genus is remarkable for a membranous bag of triangular shape rising vertically above the occiput (the hinder part of the head) which can be filled with air at pleasure. These reptiles also have an elevated, dentated (toothed) crest along the back that can be raised or depressed at will. In an harsh way they are beautiful creatures.

Old legends held that the cockatrice was produced from a cock’s egg brooded by a serpent. They believed its hiss would drive away all other snakes and that its breath and even its look could be fatal.

All folklore aside, when Jesus Christ returns He will bind the king of serpents and cause all of His creation to dwell in peace and harmony. And the sucking child shall play on the

hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the

COCKATRICE’ den (Isaiah 11:8).

67. COGITATIONS

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Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my

COGITATIONS much troubled me, and my countenance

changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart (Daniel 7:28).

Cogitation is the act of thinking, meditating or

contemplating. It comes from the Latin “cogitare,” which means to pursue something in the mind. It is really a compound of co (a prefix signifying with or together) and agitate (to move with a violent, irregular action; to disturb or excite).

Thus, from the verse above we learn that Daniel was

troubled because as he pursued the vision in his mind, he could not seem to think in a logical or orderly fashion, being so upset by what he saw.

The life of Daniel is most convicting to those who give it a careful look. The latter-day student of prophecy seems to know and understand all the facts, but remains unaffected in heart and life. Daniel seems to have understood little of what God showed him but he was moved to tears, to prayer, and to action by what he saw. Would we not be better off with less emphasis upon knowledge and more upon heart application?

68. COLLOPS

A collop is simply a small slice of meat or a piece of flesh.

The word appears once in scripture, where it is used by Eliphaz the Temanite as a form of mockery.

Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh

COLLOPS of fat on his flanks (Job 15:27).

That is, where you should have muscular flesh you have gobs of fat. He is speaking with contempt of those who need not labor and are thus grown obese.

69. COMMODIOUS

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And because the haven was not COMMODIOUS to winter

in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means

they might attain to Phenice, and there to winter; which is an

haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south west and north west

(Acts 27:12).

Commodious means “adapted to its use or purpose or to

wants and necessities; convenient; suitably fit.”

I know what you’re wondering. Commode is a French word meaning convenient. It was formerly used for a chest of drawers, a chest of shelves, or any indoor convenience. When indoor plumbing arrived the word attached itself to a new item of furniture and held fast.

70. CONEY

Time to go back to the zoo. This little varmint is a

pachyderm and is also called a damon. One difficulty here is that dictionaries differ, some spelling the word with an e, “coney,”

and some without, “cony.” See Appendix K.

For reasons known only to the scientific community the coney is all but unknown by its English name because it is forced to live with its Latin name. (This animal was not affected by Vatican II.) Thus, far more readers would recognize the hyrax than would recognize the coney.

This quadruped (four legged) animal is a gregarious (family-like), feeble, timid, and easily trained member of the rabbit family. It is a native of Syria, Arabia and Abyssinia.

The CONIES are but a feeble folk, yet make they their

houses in the rocks; (Proverbs 30:26). The rocks for the

CONIES are a refuge (Psalms 104:18). They have been rendered unclean by the dictates of the law (Leviticus 11:5; Deuteronomy 14:7). These truths, and the animal being all but unknown because of the names given it by Gentiles, make the coney a striking type of the Hebrew remnant in the great tribulation.

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71. CONCUPISCENCE

That every one of you should know how to possess his

vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of

CONCUPISCENCE, even as the Gentiles which know not God:

(1 Thessalonians 4:4-5).

This is a good New Testament word meaning unlawful or

irregular desire of carnal pleasure. It is a synonym of lust.

One would expect a degenerate society to glorify lust and immorality and make a god of Cupid. What one would not expect is to find churches holding banquets and parties on

“Saint” Valentine’s day to glorify such concupiscence.

See also Romans 7:8 and Colossians 3:5.

72. CONTEMN

This word is usually confused with condemn. Both words are frequently used in the word of God.

Condemn is to pronounce to be wrong; to utter a sentence of disapprobation against; to censure; to blame. It means to pronounce judicial sentence against; to sentence to punishment; to doom.

Contemn is a different word all together. It is to consider and treat as mean and despicable; to neglect as unworthy of regard; to reject with disdain; to slight. You may find it easier to keep the meaning separate if you think of contemn as the verb form of contempt.

While the unsaved are condemned they are not contemned.

Were the condemned contemned they would have had no Savior die for them and no hope of ever being reconciled to God.

The wicked CONTEMN God (Psalms 10:13) and His counsel (Psalms 107:11). Read the above definition again and 66 /

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you will better understand the wrath and judgment of God which shall fall upon the ungodly.

The righteous contemn vile persons (Psalms 15:4). And a wise man will contemn all he has to abide in the love of Christ (Song of Solomon 8:7).

See also Ezekiel 21:10-13 and Isaiah 16:14.

73. COPING

This word is spelled the same as the active tense of “to cope” but is pronounced cup-ing; that is, with the short “u”

sound rather than the long “o.” It is another architectural term.

Coping is the highest covering course of masonry in a wall.

It often has sloping edges to carry off water. It is sometimes called capping.

Cope is a covering for the head, anything regarded as

extended over the head as the arch or contain of the sky, the roof, the covering of a house, the arch over a door, etc. In fact, it is even used of the hoods that certain orders of priests wear over their heads during rituals.

Cope is also the top part of a flask.

So to cope, in the intransitive form of the verb, would be “to form a cope or arch, to bend or bow,” and coping would be the act of putting on this final covering or course of masonry.

We read in 1 Kings 7:9: All these were of costly stones,

according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws,

within and without, even from the foundation unto the

COPING, and so on the outside toward the great court.

74. COPULATION

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This is the act of coupling; two, a couple, coming together as one. Copulation is the embrace of the sexes in the act of generation.

The woman also with whom man shall lie with seed of

COPULATION, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and

be unclean until the even (Leviticus 15:18, see also verses 16-17).

At this point some questions must be asked those who wish to update the scriptures and place them in the common language of the man on the street. Can you honestly say that you desire to produce such a version of the Bible? Will you change such difficult words as copulation into common vulgar language?

Having done so will you be able to print “Holy Bible” on the cover?

The language of the Authorized Version is not only precise and beautiful, but chaste. In the purity of its renderings the truth is presented without leading the mind to wander into the realms of concupiscence.

75. CORMORANT

The French built a word, “cormoran,” from the Armenian

“mor-vran;” mor, sea and bran, raven. Anyone having seen both the raven and the cormorant will conclude this description was not based upon appearance but rather appetite.

The cormorant is a web-footed bird of the family

pelecanidae. It is known for its voracious appetite. In various parts of the world it is called the snake-bird, because of its strange appearance when swimming beneath the water. In other places it is known as the water turkey, because of the shape of its head.

These birds will spend long periods in the water searching for and devouring fish. Then they will gather in large groups to dry their wings. We saw thousands of them in and around the Sea of Galilee.

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And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts

of the nations: both the CORMORANT and the bittern shall

lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the

windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall

uncover the cedar work (Zephaniah 2:14).

See also Leviticus 11:17, Deuteronomy 14:17 and Isaiah 34:11.

76. COULTER

This is an alternate spelling of colter. It is from the Latin cutler, which is a plowshare or knife. This is where we get our word cutlery. The word originally was colere meaning to cultivate.

A coulter is the fore iron of a plow, with a sharp edge to cut earth or sod.

But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to

sharpen every man his share, and his COULTER, and his axe,

and his mattock. Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for

the COULTERS, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to

sharpen the goads (1 Samuel 13:20-21).

77. CREATED

This is one of those words most readers assume they know.

As with a large number of Biblical words, a check of the definition will yield rich rewards.

To create is to bring into being, to form out of nothing, to cause to exist.

Not only does this destroy all arguments for and theories regarding evolution but shows that everything is from God, by God and for God and that without Him nothing could exist.

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And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because

that in it he had rested from all his work which God CREATED

and made (Genesis 2:3).

Of the numerous uses of create in the Bible this verse is chosen because it illustrates an important truth. To create is to bring into being out of nothing. To make is to fashion what is created. Keeping this distinction in mind will clarify many portions of the word of God.

78. CRISPING PINS

The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the

wimples, and the CRISPING PINS, (Isaiah 3:22).

Throughout the course of this book we will look at three or four terms that come from the third chapter of Isaiah which designate items of fashion worn by women.

It is not hard to understand why such terms are all but unknown today. Fashions must change or women could wear the same clothes year after year without going out of style. Many designers, models, textile merchants, magazines and retail outlets would go out of business.

In my short lifetime hip huggers, bell bottoms, leisure suits, platform shoes, peasant blouses, wings, and afros have come, gone and tried to come again. Only those who study the history of fashion can call to mind the names of the dress, hair and shoe styles which were so common to any particular era.

To call pedal pushers by another name, because very few know what pedal pushers were, would not be a presentation of the truth. To call seer-suckers by some other name, because the term means nothing to most moderns, would be inaccurate and dishonest.

So, too, there are fashion terms in the Authorized Version which refer to items virtually unknown to the modern reader.

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reader will recognize is to present falsehood in the name of clarity.

However, you might be surprised to find that a crisping pin is not so out of date. It was a pin or a straight piece of metal that was made hot. A lock of hair was than wrapped around this hot iron and slightly burned, or made crisp. This would cause the damaged hair to curl. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present…the curling iron.

79. CUMBERED

But Martha was CUMBERED about much serving, and

came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister

hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me

(Luke 10:40).

Most readers are familiar with the passage quoted above but have probably never taken the time to find out what the Lord was saying about Martha.

Cumber is burdensomness, oppression, trouble, distress and embarrassment. So one who is cumbered is not only burdened down with a load but is hindered and embarrassed by that load.

Most people misread the verse cited above. You will hear them say Martha was cumbered about with much serving. What the Bible actually says is that Martha was cumbered about

much serving.

This doesn’t mean that the woman was just busy and had a lot of work to do, but that the woman was embarrassed at having her guests find the work undone.

Picture a woman frantically trying to get the house in order for an important visitor. She is greatly ashamed that the house is not already neat and clean. Her concern is not for the comfort of her guest but for her own reputation as a hostess. This is what it means to be cumbered.

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80. DANDLE

Can you see the father in the living room chair? His legs are crossed, and sitting atop his foot is a little child. The wee one’s hands are being held by daddy’s hands, and the father’s leg is swinging so as to give baby the ride of a lifetime. Everyone has done this or seen it done.

In Isaiah the baby is on the knees, and the legs of mother are bouncing up and down as parent and child play together. It is a beautiful picture.

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:

then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be

DANDLED upon her knees (Isaiah 66:12).

81. DEARTH

This is earth with a “d” in front. This is death with an “r”

inserted. Picture the two words side by side and then imagine them smashed together.

Dearth is scarcity, want or famine. It is death in the earth.

Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our

lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because

of the DEARTH (Nehemiah 5:3).

See also Genesis 41:54; 2 Kings 4:38; 2 Chronicles 6:28; Jeremiah 14:1; Acts 7:11; 11:28.

82. DESCRY

And the house of Joseph sent to DESCRY Bethel (Judges 1:23).

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So just what did they set out to do at Bethel?

Descry means to spy out and make known; to discover by the eye, as objects at a distance that can be faintly seen; to espy; to detect.

Oh, I see.

83. DESPISE – DESPITE

We learn in Isaiah 53 that the Lord Jesus Christ was

despised of men. This means the sons of Adam scorned, disdained and contemned (see above) their Savior. The word despise also means “to have the lowest opinion of.” This is the meaning of we esteemed him not in the chapter cited above.

Numerous references.

Despite is used twice in the word of God. The meaning in each case is not “in spite of” which would be bad enough, e.g.

hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:29).

Rather, what the Christ rejecter of our day has done is like unto what the Ammonites did to the Hebrews (Ezekiel 25:6). When a man does despite to the attempts of the Holy Spirit to draw him to Christ he is acting with “extreme malice; violent hatred; malignity; an act prompted by feelings of hatred or defiance; triumph over opposition, successful counteraction.”

84. DISCREET

The aged women likewise,…That they may teach the

young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their

children, To be DISCREET, chaste, keepers at home, good,

obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not

blasphemed (Titus 2:3-5).

A woman who is discreet is possessed of discernment,

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teach the younger women how to keep from being deceived by the devil.

Discreet is also defined as discernment in the adaptation of means to ends. The Lord wants His mature daughters to teach His young daughters not to complain about what they lack but to skillfully make do with what they have. In this credit card, materialistic age the love of money continues to be the root of all

evil. A discreet woman will not bankrupt her family and mortgage her children’s future by piling up debts in order to have more things, but she will wisely and cheerfully make do with such things as she has.

The third meaning of discreet is prudent, circumspect, not rash, headlong or heedless, but cautious and wary. While no son heeds all his mother’s warnings to be careful, every son is blessed to have a mother who is ever issuing such warnings. Had Eve been discreet the history of the world would have been much different.

See also Genesis 41:33, 39. Discreetly, Mark 12:34 and

discretion, numerous references.

85. DISSIMULATION

This is, of course, the act of dissembling. Want more?

Notice the double “s.” We have the prefix “dis,” which denotes separation or parting from. It generally has the force of a privative and negative. This is linked to the word simulate, which means “to assume the mere appearance of, without the reality.” To dissimulate is, therefore, to hide under a false appearance, a feigning, a false presentation for negative, i.e., for hurtful purposes, hypocrisy.

Thus, the Biblical command is to be filled with a genuine, Holy Spirit produced love, not a false, make-believe “love.” The dissembler pretends to love you so he can hurt you. For details study the lyrics accompanying popular music for the past century.

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Let love be without DISSIMULATION. Abhor that which

is evil; cleave to that which is good (Romans 12:9). The

dissembler (Psalms 26:4) dissembleth with his lips (Proverbs 26:24). Do not be carried away with their dissimulation

(Galatians 2:13).

86. DISSEMBLE

A dissembler is one who hides under a false appearance; conceals; disguises; pretends to hold feelings or affections which are not genuine.

When someone pretends to be your friend, love the Lord, agree with the doctrine, etc. when in reality they are an opponent, their deed is called dissembling.

A dissembler is one who assumes a false appearance to

conceal the real fact, motives, intention or sentiments. They are very dangerous people.

87. DISTAFF

A distaff is literally a stick with a bundle of flax or wool on it from which the fibers were drawn out and twisted (spun) into thread.

What makes the word of interest are the rare occasions when one comes across a mention of the “distaff side” of the family.

This is a reference to the woman, who would have done such work.

She layeth her hands tot he spindle, and her hands hold

the DISTAFF (Proverbs 31:19).

88. DOLEFUL

Dole is a noun taken from Northern French and Latin words meaning sorrow at heart, grief or to feel pain.

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Doleful means full of dole or grief; expressing or exciting sorrow.

Such will be the songs of the strange and Satanic creatures that will inhabit the ruins of Babylon during the coming age (Isaiah 13:21), and such have been the cries of the Israelites under judgment.

In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and

lament with a DOLEFUL lamentation, and say, We be utterly

spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath

he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields

(Micah 2:4).

89. ENJOIN

En is a prefix to many English words, chiefly those borrowed from the French. It coincides with the Latin differently with en or in. For the ease of pronunciation, it is changed to em, particularly before a labial (pertaining or belonging to the lips, in this case having reference to those letters formed by the lips: as b, p, w {go ahead, try it}), as in employ or empower.

To enjoin is to lay upon, as an order or command; to put an injunction on; to give command to; to direct with authority. The word has the force of a parent enjoining children or God His saints. It is more authoritative than to direct and less domineering than to command.

Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to

ENJOIN thee that which is convenient, (Philemon 8).

Enjoined: Esther 9:31; Job 36:23; Hebrews 9:20.

90. ENSAMPLE

This word is close enough in meaning to example to tempt one to classify it as an alternate spelling. The Bible frequently uses both words.

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Example is that which is to be followed or imitated as a model, a pattern, or copy. It also has a second meaning, which seems almost the opposite on the surface; that which is to be avoided or condemned; a warning; a caution. In both cases it is a portion taken to show the character or quality of others or the whole.

Ensample is also a pattern or model for imitation; to

exemplify or to show by example.

Now the producers of the new Bibles, seeing definitions so very similar, have dashed in and changed the spelling of ensample to the more modern example and by so doing have obscured another marvelous detail of the English language.

As stated above, en is a prefix to many English words taken from the French language. En was formerly used as a plural termination of nouns and of verbs, as in “housen” or “escapen.”

It is retained in a few cases such as “oxen” and “children” and still is the termination of some verbs, as in “hearken,” from the Saxon infinitive.

What does any of this matter to today’s reader? Notice the words plural termination in the discussion of en. This little key unlocks the truth.

In the nine Biblical uses of example the pattern in view is an individual.

In the six Biblical uses of ensample the pattern in view is a group or plurality of persons.

Thus, ensample is the plural form of example.

This marvelous little detail is found only in the

magnificently accurate English of the Authorized Version.

For I have given you an EXAMPLE, that ye should do as I

have done to you (John 13:15).

Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an

ENSAMPLE unto you to follow us (2 Thessalonians 3:9).

See also Philippians 3:17; 2 Peter 2:6; 1 Corinthians 10:11; 1 Thessalonians 1:7; 1 Peter 5:3.

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91. ENSUE

This is to follow or come after, to pursue.

In 1 Peter 3:11 we read, seek peace and ENSUE it.

God tells us to stay after peace because it is going to try and run away. Peace is a very elusive thing, especially among a congregation of saved sinners. Every faithful pastor, elder and deacon knows that most of the ministry is spent ensuing peace.

The word pursue is to follow with a view to overtake or to capture. Pursue does not occur in any form or tense in the New Testament.

92-93. ENTREAT – INTREAT

These are not the same words. They have two very different meanings as they are found in the pages of scripture.

The definition of the first is to treat or conduct toward; to deal with; to use or manage. This is the sense of Jeremiah 15:11,

The LORD said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily

I will cause the enemy to ENTREAT thee well in the time of

evil and in the time of affliction.

Entreated, numerous references. Entreateth, Job 24:21.

While the Latin prefix in is used on some occasions as a particle of negation, like the English un, (inactive, incapable) or to signify within (into) or among (inbred), these are not its most frequent uses. The principle occurrence of this prefix is to render emphatic the sense of the word to which it is attached.

The meaning, then, of intreat is to treat with or in respect to a thing desired; hence, to ask earnestly, to beseech, to pray with urgency.

This is how we are to understand Genesis 25:21, And Isaac

INTREATED the LORD for his wife, because she was barren:

and the LORD was INTREATED of him, and Rebekah his wife

conceived.

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The various forms of this word, intreat, intreaty, intreated, inteaties, have numerous references.

94. ESCHEW

This is just the opposite of ensue. It means to flee from, to shun, to seek to avoid, to keep oneself clear of. When you ensue you follow after. When you eschew you turn and run the other way.

In the verse quoted above, God says, Let him ESCHEW

evil, and do good; (1 Peter 3:11).

A list of all the Bible says we should ensue and all we should eschew would be a worthwhile study indeed.

The past tense is eschewed (Job 1:1) and the active use is

escheweth (Job 1:8; 2:3).

95. ESPY

This is another word thought difficult only due to

mispronunciation. Many English words begin with a silent letter (pneumonia, gnat, hour, etc.). This is one of them. It is pronounced “spy” and is, in fact, but an alternate spelling of that word.

As you may have guessed, this word is akin to descry (see above). Espy means to catch sight of, to perceive with the eyes; to discover, as a distant object partly concealed, or not obvious to notice; to discern unexpectedly; as to espy a land; to espy a man in a crowd.

This is certainly the case in Joshua 14:7. Forty years old

was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from

Kadesh-barnea to ESPY out the land; and I brought him word

again as it was in mine heart.

To inspect narrowly; to examine and keep watch upon. This is the way the word is used in Jeremiah 48:19, O inhabitant of

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Aroer, stand by the way, and ESPY; ask him that fleeth, and

her that escapeth, and say, What is done?

Espied, Genesis 42:27, Ezekiel 20:6.

96. EUNUCH

We know the story of the Ethiopian eunuch, but do we really know why he was so designated?

Eunuch is a word of Greek origins. The word from which our English word is derived meant to keep or guard the couch. It is also found in Latin as eunuchus and French as eunucha. The English word means a male of the human species who is

castrated, hence, from the frequent employment of such persons in this office in former times, a chamberlain (an attendant who has charge of the chambers). So eunuchs have long been employed for the keeping of women’s chambers for obvious purposes.

Jesus spoke of three varieties of eunuchs in Matthew 19:12.

For there are some EUNUCHS, which were so born from their

mother’s womb: and there are some EUNUCHS, which were

made EUNUCHS of men: and there be EUNUCHS, which

have made themselves EUNUCHS for the kingdom of heaven’s

sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

There may be some application here to ministers who serve the king and care for the virgin bride of Christ without any desire to offend the king by taking improper liberties with the bride but this certainly lies outside the literal intent of the passage.

Numerous other references.

97. EXECRATION

Execrate derives from the Latin words execrari, execratum and exsecratum. They are all quite similar. Ex meaning out of or from is combined with sacer meaning holy or sacred.

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The word thus carries the opposite meaning of being or being declared sacred, or something that is ex-sacred.

Therefore, execration is the act of cursing; a curse

pronounced; imprecation of evil; utter detestation expressed.

Something sacred is set apart by solemn religious ceremony, consecrated for holy use. In both Bible uses of this word the nation of Israel is in view. God’s sanctified people are to be the expression of Jehovah’s utter detestation.

And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their

faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they

shall all be consumed, and fall in the land of Egypt; they shall

even be consumed by the sword and by the famine: they shall

die, from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by

the famine: and they shall be an EXECRATION, and an

astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach (Jeremiah 44:12).

See also Jeremiah 42:18.

98. EXTOL

I will EXTOL thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy

name for ever and ever (Psalms 145:1).

This is to place on high, to lift up, to elevate by praise or to magnify. May God find us all occupied in extolling the Lord Jesus Christ.

See also Psalms 30:1; 68:4; Daniel 4:37. Used in the past tense, extolled, in Psalms 66:17; Isaiah 52:13.

99. FALLOW

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break

up your FALLOW ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he

come and rain righteousness upon you (Hosea 10:12).

As an adjective, fallow means left untilled or unsowed after having been plowed, ready for culture. Fallow ground is land THE DEFINITIONS / 81

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that was fertile and prepared but has fallen into neglect. As a noun it is land that has lain a year or more untilled or unseeded.

The cry of the prophet to the careless in Israel is fitting in both respects.

See also Jeremiah 4:3.

100.

FALLOWDEER

And Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty measures

of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, Ten fat oxen,

and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep,

beside harts, and roebucks, and FALLOWDEER, and fatted

fowl (1 Kings 4:22-23).

Yet another member of the animal kingdom comes to our

attention. This one isn’t too difficult. The fallowdeer takes its name from an alternate meaning of fallow, which is pale yellow or the color of naked ground. This species of deer, smaller than the stag, could lie in tilled soil and blend in most perfectly. It takes its name from its color.

See also Deuteronomy 14:5.

101.

FILLET

Time to go back to work on the temple.

And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was

eighteen cubits; and a FILLET of twelve cubits did compass it;

and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow

(Jeremiah 52:21).

In architectural language a fillet is a little square member or ornament used in divers places, but generally as a corona (a large flat member of a cornice, usually of considerable projection, to carry off the rain that falls on it) over a greater molding. The term is also used for the longitudinal ridge between the flutings 82 /

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(the channels or perpendicular furrows in a column) of a Grecian column.

See also Exodus 27:17; 38:17, 28.

102.

FITCHES

This is the chick-pea, called such for it is somewhat smaller than the regular pea. It is a legume of the genus cicer and is cultivated primarily in southern Europe. It is cooked and eaten in the same way as lentils.

Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans,

and lentiles, and millet, and FITCHES, and put them in one

vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number

of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and

ninety days shalt thou eat thereof (Ezekiel 4:9).

See also Isaiah 28:25-27.

103.

FLAGON

This is a vessel with a narrow mouth, used for holding and conveying liquids. A flagon of wine (2 Samuel 6:19, 1

Chronicles 16:3, Song of Solomon 2:5, Isaiah 22:24, Hosea 3:1) would differ from a wine-vat (of fat) in that you could pour the liquid out of it, as opposed to dipping, or, if the flagon were small enough, you could drink right out of the bottle.

104.

FLUX

Flux is the act of flowing, the motion or passing as of a fluid.

Flux is also the matter which flows, such as the tide setting in toward the shore.

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And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a

fever and of a bloody FLUX: to whom Paul entered in, and

prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him (Acts 28:8).

This fellow has fluid flowing from his body which is

mingled with blood. Such a horrid condition was not too great a problem for the healing power of the Lord.

105.

FRAY

The word has four meanings. Here we shall deal with the two used in scripture.

To fray is to frighten or to terrify, to alarm. And the

carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the

heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall FRAY

them away (Jeremiah 7:33).

The word also means to rub or to wear off by rubbing. For example, the deer will rub its head against a tree to fray off its old antlers. In Zechariah 1:21 God uses this term for the diminishing of the people who have provoked His wrath. Then

said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are

the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift

up his head: but these are come to FRAY them, to cast out the

horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land

of Judah to scatter it.

See also Deuteronomy 28:26.

106.

GAINSAY

This means to contradict, to oppose in words, to deny or declare not true, to dispute. The more vocal an individual or a church becomes in their declaration of truth, the more vocal will be the opposition.

Moses met with all of this in the person of Korah. Woe unto

them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily

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after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the

GAINSAYING of Core (Jude 11).

Jesus promised, For I will give you a mouth and wisdom,

which all your adversaries shall not be able to GAINSAY nor

resist (Luke 21:15).

And a leader of the new testament church is to be holding

fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be

able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the

GAINSAYERS (Titus 1:9).

107.

GALBANUM

This word derives from two Hebrew words, the one meaning to be fat, the other meaning milk. It is a thick, gummy resin which exudes from the stem of an umbelliferous (having flower clusters in which the flower-stalks spread moderately from a common point) plant which grows prolifically in Africa.

It has an acrid, bitter taste and a strong, unpleasant smell.

This makes the lone Bible use of the word a strange one. And

the Lord said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte,

and onycha, and GALBANUM; these sweet spices with pure

frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight (Exodus 30:34).

One must remember, that to God the horrible death of His Son was a sweetsmelling savour (Ephesians 5:2) and that the daily death of those born again is a savour of life unto life (2

Corinthians 2:16). How God’s eternally-holy senses perceive of a thing, and how man’s degenerate senses perceive of the same thing are often quite different.

A varnish made from galbanum is used in diverse types of art. It is used for medicinal purposes as well.

108.

GARLANDS

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Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city,

brought oxen and GARLANDS unto the gates, and would have

done sacrifice with the people (Acts 14:13).

What is going on here?

When Paul and Barnabas were enabled by the Lord to

perform a work of healing in Lystra, the new-agers there thought the space brothers had arrived to help them evolve. Barnabas was thought to be Jupiter, and Paul was hailed as Mercury.

Before you scoff, let me point out that “modern man” differs nothing from his heathen forefathers. For details see NASA with its Jupiter rocket and its project Mercury.

The oxen for the sacrifice are clear enough, but what are those garlands?

A garland is a wreath or chaplet made of branches, flowers, feathers and, sometimes of precious stones. It is worn on the head like a crown.

One miracle was all it took for these poor pagans to declare the Lord’s apostles gods from outer space. It is no wonder that the miraculous powers Satan gives to the antichrist will cause the world to wonder after the beast and crown him as their king.

109.

GLEDE

This is the common kite of Europe. Its name is similar to glide, and it is so called because of its swift and easy motion when in flight.

The bird is rapacious, meaning it likes to seize its food by violence. It is a ravenous bird, but oftentimes will not kill its own prey but will attack another bird and steal its prey. When food is scarce it will scavenge. For this reason, it is unclean according to the dietary laws Jehovah gave to the nation of Israel.

But these are they of which ye shall not eat:…the GLEDE,

and the kite, and the vulture after his kind (Deuteronomy 14:12-13).

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110.

GLISTERING

And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings,

he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a

mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his

countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and

GLISTERING (Luke 9:28-29).

Here is one to pause and think about. Glistering means bright. Not just bright, but brilliant. Not just brilliant, but shining. Not just shining, but sparkling.

So on this mount the disciples got a glimpse of Jesus Christ in bright-brilliant-shining-sparkling splendor.

Verses 31 and 32 tell us this was a manifestation of the Lord in his glory.

Now picture the second advent. For the Son of man shall

come in the glory of his Father with his angels; (Matthew 16:27).

Meditate upon the wonder of the King as He sits in the new temple to reign in the Millennial Day. And Jesus said unto

them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in

the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of

his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the

twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28).

Now think of a city where the street is purest gold and the walls are glasslike gemstones. Seated high and lifted up in that New Jerusalem is one who is bright-brilliant-shining-sparkling in His most-deserved glory. And the city had no need of the sun,

neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did

lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof (Revelation 21:23).

Hallelujah!

111.

HABERGEON

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This is a piece of defensive armour descending from the neck to the middle of the body and formed of little iron rings or a linkage of iron meshes.

And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of

my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them

held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the

HABERGEONS; and the rulers were behind all the house of

Judah (Nehemiah 4:16).

A persistent myth, (aided and abetted by a scene from the Laurence Olivier film Henry V in which a warrior is hoisted by a derrick), is that medieval suits of armor were so heavy that an unhorsed knight could not move and needed help getting into the saddle.

According to Dr. Helmut Nickel, curator of Arms and Armor at Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY, suits of armor were not only so well fitted that the wearer could move easily, but averaged in weight only some 50-55 pounds. This is no more than a modern fully-equipped-soldier’s gear.

Other misconceptions involving warfare in former ages are that the large swords then used were two-handed, and that longbowmen carried their arrows on their backs.

The swords were actually balanced for use with one hand; and the English longbowman carried his arrows, not after the fashion Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood, whose director evidently mistook American Indian practice for medieval custom, but rather in a sheaf tied loosely at the waist.

See also 2 Chronicles 26:14.

112.

HALING

As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into

every house, and HALING men and women committed them to

prison (Acts 8:3).

Haling is a word not understood because we seek to

pronounce it according to the rules of grammar (see Appendix J).

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This leads us to use the long “a” sound, and thereby create a word with which we are not familiar. Actually, haling is pronounced with the same “a” sound as fall.

What we have is but a form of the word haul, and it means to pull or draw with force; to drag; to haul.

The use of the word in Acts 8 implies those taken in the roundups were not actively resisting arrest, but neither were they cooperating with their captors; or it could mean that they were being pulled behind infantry or mounted soldiers.

113.

HELVE

A helve is the handle of an ax or hatchet. In some rare cases it is used for the head of the ax. To helve is to furnish or fashion with an ax.

As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to

hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut

down the tree, and the head slippeth from the HELVE, and

lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one

of those cities, and live (Deuteronomy 19:5).

114.

HIRES

To hire is to employ, but hire is “the reward or price for services rendered.” Hires always carries with it the connotation of illegal or base service (though hire, does not).

Its lone use in the word of God has to do with the price of harlotry or idolatry, i.e., any and all gifts given to one in exchange for immoral purposes.

And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces,

and all the HIRES thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all

the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the

HIRE of an harlot, and they shall return to the HIRE of an

harlot (Micah 1:7).

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115.

HOUGH

While the English language is most confusing it would be far more so if we had different letter for every sound. Think how long it would take to learn one’s ABCs did we not use each vowel and most consonants for several different sounds.

In many cases we use pairs of letters for a single sound.

This is not too difficult, but when the same pair of letters can be put for a number of sounds there is bound to be some trouble.

One such pair of letters is gh. They may have a hard g sound as in “ghost.” They may have a double f sound as in

“laugh,” “rough,” or “tough.” They may be silent, simply serving to alter the sound of the letters around them as in “eight.”

In very rare instances, like the one at hand, they have a k sound.

A hough is the joint on the hind leg of a quadruped, between the knee and fetlock (the part of the leg where the tuft of hair grows behind the pastern joint in horses), and corresponds to the ankle joint in man.

To hough is to disable by cutting the sinews of the ham; to hamstring. It is this action which is meant when the word occurs in scripture.

And the Lord said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of

them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all

slain before Israel: thou shalt HOUGH their horses, and burn

their chariots with fire (Joshua 11:6).

See also Joshua 11:9; 2 Samuel 8:4; 1 Chronicles 18:4.

116.

IGNOMINY

This is public disgrace or dishonor, shame, reproach,

infamy; an act deserving of reproach such as an ignominious act.

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It is a synonym of reproach, dishonor, shame, contempt. Its root and derivation both imply the depriving of one’s good name.

In a day when it seems no one from the President to the town drunk can blush, we need a revival of ignominy.

When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, and

with IGNOMINY reproach (Proverbs 18:3).

117.

IMMUTABILITY

This word is used in scripture concerning the covenant the Lord made with His people.

Im is from the Latin prefix in, the n being changed to an m in many words for easier pronunciation (see above). It is a particle of negation (to declare the negative) like the English un.

Mutable means “capable of alteration; subject to change; changeable in form, qualities, or nature.” From this we have our words mutant and mutation.

So im = not and mutable = capable of being changed.

Armed with this understanding let us read the following verses with exceeding joy.

Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the

heirs of promise the IMMUTABILITY of his counsel,

confirmed it by an oath: That by two IMMUTABLE things, in

which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong

consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope

set before us: (Hebrews 6:17-18).

118.

IMPLEAD

Wherefore if Demetrius and the craftsmen which are with

him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there

are deputies: let them IMPLEAD one another (Acts 19:38).

It sounds rather gruesome, doesn’t it?

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Here im prefix (see above) is joined with the legal term, plea, which is a cause in court, a lawsuit, or a criminal process; as in, the Court of Common Pleas.

To implead is to institute and prosecute as suit against someone in court; i.e., to sue.

One who has spent much time in the courtroom may still say it sounds rather gruesome.

119.

IMPORTUNITY

I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him,

because he is his friend, yet because of his IMPORTUNITY he

will rise and give him as many as he needeth (Luke 11:8).

Most have read Jesus’ parable on prayer in Luke 11. But, by assuming they know the meaning, most pass by this word and miss a blessing.

Importunate means troublesomely urgent, unreasonably

solicitous, over-pressing in request or demand, pertinacious (obstinate stubbornness) in solicitation; as an importunate suitor or petitioner.

Our prayers are effectual when they are fervent. Here is a man who, while not commended, is held up as an example of one who stayed after the friend with the bread until he got the bread.

The Lord points to such as a means of praying with results.

Notice from the definition of our word that the request or the one making the request may be unreasonable. We know not

what to pray for as we ought (Romans 8:26), but here the Lord encourages us to come anyway. Many absent themselves from the prayer closet, fearful they may not present the perfect petitions from the perfect motive uttered in perfect speech.

The Lord bids us come boldly to the throne of grace, trusting Him to work out the details.

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek,

and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you (Luke 11:9).

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120.

IMPUDENT

Here the prefix signifying “not” is joined to prudens (Latin, from French, prudent, from Italian and Spanish, pudente) which means ashamed, modest.

One who is impudent is bold, with contempt or disregard of others; unblushingly forward; lacking modesty; shameless.

So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an

IMPUDENT face said unto him, (Proverbs 7:13).

We certainly live in a generation of impudent children.

(How sad the word “imp” now carries the connotation of “cute.”) Women can no longer blush, and men’s vile tongues and

unrestrained lusts are socially acceptable. Their glory is their

shame, while those who are embarrassed or offended by such blatant wickedness are held in contempt. Even so, come Lord

Jesus.

See also Ezekiel 2:4; 3:7.

121.

INDITING

To indite means “to direct, dictate, suggest, or prompt what is to be uttered or written.”

How lovely does this make the words of Psalms 45:1! My

heart is INDITING a good matter: I speak of the things which

I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready

writer.

Thus, the words of praise for the king and the utterances of worship for the bridegroom were not directed by form or aroused by external circumstances, but they were the overflowing of a heart filled with adoration for the great Savior.

122.

INCONTINENT

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Here again is the negative prefix. The incontinent is one not restraining the passions or appetites, particularly the sexual appetite, indulging lust without restraint or in violation of law, unchaste and lewd. Such are the men of the perilous times which the Lord promised would arise in the last days (2 Timothy 3:3).

Continent means to hold together; not interrupted;

connected; continuous. We know this term from geography. We use it for a body of land which is not separated by any great expanse of water.

God spoke of marriage as two individuals becoming one

flesh. He warns that any defrauding on the part of one partner will prevent their bond holding together. The interruption of the continuous connection will give Satan advantage. Adultery, fornication and divorce are rampant. Much of the blame can be traced to a refusal to heed the following verse.

Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for

a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and

come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your

INCONTINENCY (1 Corinthians 7:5).

Where one partner withholds from the other the intimacy of the marriage bond, Satan will have room to slip between the continents and separate the union. Neither give place to the

devil (Ephesians 4:27).

You’re welcome.

123.

JACINTH

And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat

on them, having breastplates of fire, and of JACINTH, and

brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of

lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and

brimstone (Revelation 9:17).

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with a precious stone, but the reference works get sidetracked by the alternate name and lead us into botanical considerations.

You see, the jacinth is a variety of hyacinth.

The editors of the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia sat this one out. Strong, in his concordance, took a wrong turn and ended up with a gem of deep blue color. This is the color of the flower of the same name, but not the color of the stone.

Hyacinth is a variety of zircon. Zircon is a mineral

containing the earth zirconia and silica. It occurs in square prisms with pyramidal terminations. It is of a brown or gray color, occasionally red, and often nearly transparent. The red variety is the hyacinth.

There is a yellow-red variety of hyacinth found in Ceylon. It gets its name from a Greek word meaning inferior because it has the structure of the hyacinth but lacks the hardness. This is the jacinth.

The jacinth has excellent optical qualities, and after the diamond it has the highest refraction. This gives it a high brilliancy and a very lively fire.

Besides this, it has a strong chromatic dispersion (the spreading of light in the colors of the rainbow). It approaches the brilliance of the diamond.

There is an essonite or cinnamonstone (one word) which is a variety of garnet; it is a hyacinth-red color, sometimes used in jewelry. This is not the Biblical jacinth.

See also Revelation 21:20.

124.

JANGLING

From which some having swerved have turned aside unto

vain JANGLING; (1 Timothy 1:6).

Vain jangling ranks with certain lewd fellows of the baser

sort, exceeding magnifical, and superfluity of naughtiness as one of the most vivid expressions in all of holy writ.

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The Latin, German and Dutch tongues have words similar to this. They were provencialized into jangle, meaning to sound harshly or discordantly, as bells out of tune. To quarrel in words; to altercate; to bicker; to wrangle.

All jangling is vain, for such misuse of the gift of speech is wholly void of profit to God or man. How sad that so many of the Lord’s own are drawn into the realm of the flesh and given over to such a practice, often in the name of “defending the faith.”

One who uses the tongue in this way is called a jangler.

The female of the species is a jangleress. No kidding! Some of you will be tempted to use that word next time you jangle with the Mrs.

125.

JASPER

This is another of our gemstones. It is an opaque (see-through), impure variety of quartz of primarily red-yellow colors.

These colors are rather dull, and they break a smooth surface.

The red color results from a mixture of clay and iron. (I leave it to some astute reader to find the connection between jasper and the toes of Nebuchadnezzar’s image in Daniel 2).

Jasper emits of a high polish and is used for vases, seals, snuff boxes, etc. When the colors are in stripes or bands it is called striped jasper. The Egyptian petal is a brownish-yellow jasper.

As mentioned above, the red color of the jasper comes from a mixture of iron and clay. Wherever gravel is found this stone can be found in abundance.

Though these stones cannot be qualified as gems, this does not mean that there are not very beautiful specimens among them, which are greatly valued as ornamental stones.

Jasper is so common that it is classified, not as a precious stone, but as one of a lower order. Many commentators point to this fact and say that the jasper of the Bible is not a jasper at all, 96 /

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but a diamond. Their suggestion is that the Lord would not give so grand a place to so common a stone.

Such writers always show themselves more willing to

assault the Bible than to glory in its revelations. If God would build a mansion (John 14:1-4) city (Revelation 21) for lively stones (1 Peter 2:5) hewn from the clay quarry of sinful humanity, He surely would use the common jasper in its construction.

Thank God that His delight in the common makes it

precious.

And he that sat was to look upon like a JASPER and a

sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne,

in sight like unto an emerald (Revelation 4:3).

See also Exodus 28:20; 39:13; Ezekiel 28:13; Revelation 21:11-19.

126.

JESTING

Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor JESTING,

which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks

(Ephesians 5:4).

This little word has been so misunderstood that it is a wonder it is not suffering from some Laodicean emotional disorder. Those saints who have difficulty enjoying life are ever seeking scriptural grounds upon which to condemn happy and outgoing brethren. Sooner or later they find Ephesians 5:4 and rejoice (well, not really, but if they knew how to rejoice they would rejoice) to have “proof” that laughing, humor, and the like are ungodly. This is because they assume that jesting means joking. The fact that a jester is a joker is all the supporting evidence these folks need to point out that Brother So-and-So should not be laughing all the time.

In truth, the sin of jesting is far more serious, and certainly is much more prevalent in and damaging to, the body of Christ, than “cutting up.”

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The old English word gest, or jest, was a deed or action story, what we might call a hero tale. The jestour was a teller of tales or a relater of gests. Gest is from the French meaning exploit. Gesta is the Latin word for a history of things done.

The Portuguese gesta means a chronicle or history.

Now turn your attention to those great giants (word

intentionally selected) of fundamentalism who have been made the champions of revival, the greatest soul winner, the largest membership, the biggest youth rally, the longest running pastorate, etc. ad nauseum. When you listen to these men

“preach” you will hear a scripture text read and then sixty minutes of “I did this,” and “I did that,” and afterward men and women go home and say, “Wow, if only I were as great as Reverend (the old term for glorifying a man) or Doctor (the new term for glorifying a man) Fantastic.”

The joker’s wild. He’s a real card. And he’s on the loose in these last days charming the guests at the flesh-feast with remarkable stories to turn their hearts away from Jesus Christ and to seduce them into adoring a man.

Much of what passes for preaching today is (Biblically speaking, and quite literally) a jest.

127.

JUSTIFY

There are so many cutie-pie songs and ankle-deep

sermonettes which make use of justify and justification that it would be best to set forth a real definition of so important a Bible word.

To justify is to prove or to show to be just or conformable to law, right, justice, propriety or duty; to defend or maintain, to vindicate as right, to pronounce free from guilt, to pardon, and to absolve.

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encourage you to read some familiar passages and put the definition in place of the word.

And by him all that believe are JUSTIFIED (proven to be just; proven to be conformable to the law; vindicated as right; defended as right; maintained as right; pardoned; pronounced free of guilt; absolved) from all things, from which ye could not

be JUSTIFIED by the law of Moses (Acts 13:39).

A person who knows and understands the meanings of the Biblical terms used to define the diverse aspects of God’s working in our lives will never doubt his salvation. One who truly understands the meaning of justification will glory in the finished work of Christ not in his own deeds. Christ is all in all!

128.

JUSTLE

Also written as jostle, this word means to run against; to encounter; to strike against; to clash.

The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall JUSTLE

one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like

torches, they shall run like the lightnings (Nahum 2:4).

Some commentators see this verse as a foretelling of the modern automobile.

129

–

133.

KINE – MILCH – BEEVES – BULL –

BULLOCK

Now therefore make a new cart, and take two MILCH

KINE, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the KINE to

the cart, and bring their calves home from them: (1 Samuel 6:7).

Looking into the field we see a number of cattle. Some of them have young calves. They are not necessarily dairy cows, but their udders are full in order to provide nourishment for their THE DEFINITIONS / 99

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young. These are with milch, the ch being put for the k sound as is quite common in words of Germanic origin.

The word is used for any mammal whose milch is “in” for the feeding of young. For educated city folks, they are lactating.

Milch camels are spoken of in Genesis 32:15.

The word was in common use in parts of the United States into the 20th century. The McKinley Museum in Canton, Ohio displays ads posted in Ohio in 1902 for Milch Cows.

Now a kie is a cow, if you are a Scotsman, and a plurality of the beasts are called kine. So the milch kine of scripture are heifers which are nursing young.

Now suppose you were raising cattle strictly for the meat.

You would slaughter these cows for their beef. You would have one beef cow or many beeves. Ye shall offer at your own will a

male without blemish, of the BEEVES, of the sheep, or of the

goats (Leviticus 22:19)

See also Leviticus 22:21 and Numbers 31:28-44).

While we are on the farm, let us consider why the scripture uses the two terms bull and bullock. These are not the same word and do not have the same meaning.

A bull is the male of any bovine quadruped, the elephant, the cow, etc.

Now, an ox, steer and bullock are terms used for the

castrated bull, the name varying with the age of the animal. The beast is called an ox-calf or bull-calf until he is one year old.

Then he is a steer until he is four years old. After that he is termed an ox or bullock. Pass the steak, please.

134.

KNOP

This is another of our building terms. It is an old spelling of knob. The word is actually derived from a Scandinavian word, probably Swedish, knopf, which meant “button, or prominence, or bud.”

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A knop is a tufted top, used in architecture for an ornament consisting of a round bunch of flowers or leaves or some other type of foliage on the capital of a pillar. Such are also called knobs and, in some instances, knots.

And under the brim of it round about there were KNOPS

compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about:

the KNOPS were cast in two rows, when it was cast (1 Kings 7:24).

135.

LASCIVIOUSNESS

This is the state or quality of being lascivious; that is, loose, wanton, lewd, or lustful.

Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto

LASCIVIOUSNESS, to work all uncleanness with greediness

(Ephesians 4:19).

When a man has degenerated to the place where “ordinary”

sins no longer stimulate or gratify, he enters the realm of the lascivious. A generation of American youth are being raised on cable television. By the time they reach their teenage years they will have grown accustomed to mutilation, blood and guts. They will have viewed so many sexual encounters that such will no longer stimulate their seared consciences and dulled senses. For

“thrills” they will have to enter the realm of perversion. This lascivious generation is foretold in Proverbs 30:11-14.

See also Mark 7:22; 2 Corinthians 12:21; Galatians 5:19; 1

Peter 4:3; Jude 4.

136.

LEES

This is simply the plural of lee, which is an English variant of the French word lie. So lees always has to do with lying down.

In some cases the reference is to the courser part of liquor, such as the dregs, which lie at the bottom of a vessel. Such is the use in Isaiah 25:6: And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts

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make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on

the LEES, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the LEES

well refined.

A lee is also a calm, sheltered place, a place defended from the wind. In this connection it is a nautical term pertaining to the part or side of a vessel opposite of that against which the wind blows. Most readers have probably heard of the leeward side of a ship without comprehending the expression.

The other two Biblical uses of lees seem to point to a lazy man lying on his side, matching the second definition, or an idle man who has settled on his bottom, matching the first definition.

Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled

on his LEES, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel,

neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste

remained in him, and his scent is not changed (Jeremiah 48:11).

See also Zephaniah 1:12.

137.

LEWD

This word originally meant “not clerical,” and evolved into our word “lay” (as in layman). Over the centuries lewd has had several different meanings: unlettered, low, bungling, vile, lawless, and licentious.

Today only the last meaning (given to the unlawful

indulgence of lust) is much used. The Biblical lewd fellows of

the baser sort (Acts 17:5) probably refers to lawless individuals, not lascivious ones.

However, the usage in Ezekiel 16:27 and 23:44, as well as the frequent use of the word “lewdness” throughout the word of God, carries the connotation of sexual immorality.

No one seems to know why, but there are many words in

English that begin with “L” which have something to do with sexual debauchery. They have a rather revolting, loathsome pronunciation. One must sort of squinch up the nose and sneer 102 /

102 READER’S GUIDE TO THE KING JAMES BIBLE

when saying them: leer, lecherous, loose, libidinous, lustful, luxury. Like many words associated with sexual sin, “lewd” is undergoing a change today (see Appendix E). It is being used more playfully, with less contempt.

138.

LIGN

We are back in the realm of botany. Ligneous is the

designation for that which is made of wood. There is an entire genus of plants known as aloes. These range in size from small herb-like varieties to medium sized trees.

The Bible carefully designates lign aloes that we might know it is the woody tree, not the ground-hugging plant, which is meant.

As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the

river’s side, as the trees of LIGN aloes which the Lord hath

planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters (Numbers 24:6).

139.

LIGURE

And the third row a LIGURE, an agate, and an amethyst

(Exodus 28:19).

This is a hard, transparent gem of an apple-green color.

In days gone by this stone was believed to be formed of the urine of a lynx.

Knowing there must be some reason for this, and unable to find any in my reference materials, I called Ann Miller, who works in the geology department at Stetson University.

Handling my question as though someone calls every day to inquire about the urine of the lynx, she told me that the Egyptians adored the creature for its stunning green eyes.

A ligure, when polished, looks just like the eye of a lynx.

Thus, the ancients thought that as a man may pass a kidney stone the lynx would pass these precious gems.

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See also Exodus 39:12.

140.

LISTETH

This is a nautical term for an inclination to one side. Such is the usage in James 3:4: Behold also the ships, which though

they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are the

turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the

governor LISTETH.

The word also means to lean or incline, as with the moving of the wind in John 3:8.

141.

LOWRING

This is not lower, with the long o sound, but the short o sound of cow, now, and how.

To lower is to cause to descend or to let down as lower (long o), but with a dark and gloomy appearance; to be clouded as to threaten with a storm.

And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the

sky is red and LOWRING. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the

face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

(Matthew 16:3).

Considering the context of the verse cited above, it is worth noting that the German word lauern, from which lower is taken, means “to lurk or a lurking place of ambush.” There is a storm waiting to break upon this wicked world.

142.

LUCRE

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This is gain, money or goods gotten by profit, often in an ill sense or by unjust means. The modern versions make the mistake of changing this word to money. This is incorrect, for the definition shows that lucre clearly involves all forms of material gain.

Though lucre may be used in a positive sense, all scripture references are to ill-gotten advance. Not given to wine, no

striker, not greedy of filthy LUCRE; but patient, not a brawler,

not covetous; (1 Timothy 3:3).

See also 1 Samuel 8:3; 1 Timothy 3:8; Titus 1:7, 11; 1 Peter 5:2.

143.

MANDRAKES

And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found

MANDRAKES in the field, and brought them unto his mother

Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy

son’s MANDRAKES. And she said unto her, Is it a small

matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldst thou

take away my son’s MANDRAKES also? And Rachel said,

Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son’s

MANDRAKES (Genesis 30:14-15).

You may recall this famous stock exchange where one

woman traded mandrakes for a husband, or at least for the temporary privileges of married life. We are either dealing with a very special item, a rotten husband, or a very evil woman.

The mandrake is a low growing plant with a very fleshy root. The root is often forked in such a way as to resemble a man. It was supposed by those of former times to have animal qualities, and there was a long-standing belief that the roots would cry out when pulled from the ground. While this has never been proven, it is known that certain plants give off distinctive sounds when under duress.

All parts of the mandrake are highly narcotic, and the roots are said to possess aphrodisiac qualities.

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Without reading too much into the text we can be certain that both these women desired the “high” or the “trip” one could experience from these herbs. Knowing, also, that the families of Laban and Jacob were plagued by idolatry (Genesis 31:30-35), it is possible there was some real perversion going on here.

If we wanted to get way down a rabbit trail I could point out that drake stems from a Gothic word, reiks, which means ruler or chief and that the Latin word draco is dragon. We could then talk about a man who is a chief ruler who is a dragon who seduces Jacob’s household, but that’s probably better left alone for the time being.

144.

MANTLE

This is a loose garment to be worn over other garments, an enveloping robe, a cloak. In some cases it has the appearance of a folded cloth that is drawn about, as often seen on a Coat of Arms.

And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my

MANTLE, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my

beard, and sat down astonied (Ezra 9:3).

Numerous other references.

145.

MAW

This is not the girl that married paw. Sorry, I couldn’t resist that one. The maw is the stomach of one of the lower animals, the receptacle into which food is taken. In birds it is called a craw.

And this shall be the priest’s due from the people, from

them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep; and they

shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheekes,

and the MAW (Deuteronomy 18:3).

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Note the alternate spelling of cheekes. There are many such words in the Bible which pose no difficulty to children in Christian elementary schools but bring consternation to college professors (see Appendix K and the Holy Spirit’s comment in 1

Corinthians 1:27-29).

146 – 147. METE – MEET

For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and

with what measure ye METE, it shall be measured to you again

(Matthew 7:2).

We have listed mete and meet together, for they are very similar words, but they are not the same.

There are two words in old English spelled metan. One had a long mark over the first vowel; the other did not.

The long vowel metan meant to come together, and gave us our meet, which means fitting or to perfectly unite.

The short vowel metan gave us the word mete meaning measure.

It is interesting to note that there is no such word as helpmeet, though we often hear the word used in pulpit oratory.

One will note that the Bible text gives us two different words to describe Mrs. Adam. And the LORD God said, It is not good

that the man should be alone; I will make him an HELP

MEET for him (Genesis 2:18).

Notice the woman was an help meet, fitting for a perfect union, not an help mete, the measure of the man.

148.

METEYARD

This is a staff or a rod which matches, metes, measures, one yard. A meteyard is a measured yard. We would call this a yardstick.

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Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in

METEYARD, in weight, or in measure (Leviticus 19:35).

149.

MINCING

This is another word from the Lord’s indictment of the careless women in Isaiah 3. It has to do with a particular way of walking. To mince is to walk with short steps, to walk with affected nicety or to effect delicacy of manner.

The Lord despises anything phony, even false displays of femininity.

Often, mincing is done in such a way as to accentuate the movement of the hips and bosom. Such provocation of lust is also abhorrent to a Holy God.

The daughters of Zion are haughty…walking and

MINCING as they go (Isaiah 3:16).

150.

MOLLIFIED

From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no

soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores:

they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither

MOLLIFIED with ointment (Isaiah 1:6).

Here is another word we can classify as medical. To mollify is to make soft or tender, as to mollify the ground. In its lone usage in scripture it has to do with tenderizing wounds to enable proper healing.

151.

MURRAIN

This is an infectious and fatal disease among cattle. A similar word is found in French, Spanish, Portuguese and Latin.

It has the same root as mortal, mortuary, mortician, etc.; mori, which is, to die.

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Behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle which is in

the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels,

upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very

grievous MURRAIN (Exodus 9:3).

152.

NAVES

And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot

wheel: their axletrees, and their NAVES, and their felloes, and

their spokes, were all molten (1 Kings 7:33) Have you noticed that we have cited several verses which contain more than one difficult word? This verse has three which we have included in our study. These verses have come from the passages dealing with construction, rocks and minerals, or fashion. All in all there are very few verses, of the 31,173 in the Holy Bible, that contain any words which prove a mystery to the average reader.

A nave is the thick piece in the center of a wheel, into which the spokes and axle are inserted; the hub.

153.

NECROMANCER

Necro is a Greek word meaning dead and mancy is from the same language and means discourse. Thus, a necromancer is one who claims to communicate with the dead. This is done for the purpose of revealing future events.

There shall not be found among you…a charmer, or a

consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a

NECROMANCER (Deuteronomy 18:10-11).

As we are called to walk by faith in the true and living God, any attempt to discern the future by contacting the spirit realm is condemned in scripture. The seeking to stocks (see below), witches (Saul at Endor), contacting familiar spirits and all such THE DEFINITIONS / 109

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practices lead only into the regions of darkness and death. There is no true light to be found outside the word of God (Isaiah 8:20).

154.

NEESINGS

By his NEESINGS a light doth shine, and his eyes are like

the eyelids of the morning (Job 41:18).

This is but an old spelling of our word sneezing.

One may not believe in fire-breathing dragons, but there is one in scripture. He is called Leviathan, and by comparing Revelation 20:1-2, Isaiah 27:1, and Job 41 you will find that this dragon is Satan himself.

Now if a light shines when a dragon neeses, there must be something bright coming forth from his nostrils. Never forget that the mythology of the world is primarily historical truth twisted just enough to cover the tracks of the devil.

155.

NITRE

This is a chemical, a white crystal and semi-transparent salt, known scientifically as nitrate of potassium. It has a very pungent saline (salty) taste. It occurs in nature as a crust of minute silky crystals, and often as the result of the decomposition of animal matter in the presence of bases.

Nitre is largely used as an antiseptic, and in medicine as a diuretic (promoting secretion and discharge of urine).

The former sense matches the passage in Jeremiah 2:22: For

though thou wash thee with NITRE, and take thee much soap,

yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God.

Nitre is also used in the manufacture of gunpowder, where you might recognize its other name, saltpeter.

It is this explosive quality which is referred to in Proverbs 25:20: As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and

as vinegar upon NITRE, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy

heart.

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The word of God advises weeping with them that weep.

There are times when cheer is not possible, and a wise friend will recognize them.

156.

NOISOME

That which is noisome is noxious to the health; hurtful; mischievous; unwholesome; insalubrious (I would tell you what that means, but it’s not a Bible word, so you are on your own); and destructive.

Someone said if the trouble is so great you can’t help but make some noise, it is noisome. Silly as it may sound, the comment is not far from the mark.

God promised that in the latter times He would send

noisome beasts through the promised land. This would take place during a time of famine and sore judgment upon Jerusalem (Ezekiel 14:15, 21). At the same time an angel pours a vial upon the earth, and a noisome sore falls upon those who have taken the mark of the beast (Revelation 16:2).

Yet those Jews who heeded the scriptural warning to flee to the wilderness until the indignation should end can claim the promises, I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my

fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver

thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the NOISOME

pestilence (Psalms 91:2-3).

157.

OBLATION(S)

And if thou bring an OBLATION of a meat offering baken

in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled

with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil (Leviticus 2:4).

An oblation is anything offered or presented in worship or sacred service; an offering; a sacrifice.

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Next Sunday morning call for the ushers to come forward and ask the people to cheerfully place their oblations in the plate as it is passed. There is no telling what you might receive.

158.

ODIOUS

The word means hateful, deserving of hatred, offensive, disagreeable, disgusting, causing hate.

For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which

it cannot bear:…for an ODIOUS woman when she is married;

and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress (Proverbs 30:21-23). May God grant abundant mercy to that poor gent!

See also 1 Chronicles 19:6.

159.

ONYCHA

This comes from the Latin word onyx and a Greek word of similar spelling and pronunciation. These words mean a claw or a fingernail or a yellowish stone.

The onycha is the shell of a species of mussel found in the lakes of the Indies. When burned it omits a musky odor.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet

spices, stacte, and ONYCHA, and galbanum; these sweet spices

with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight

(Exodus 30:34).

160.

ONYX

Back to the rock pile we go.

Onyx is a variety of chalcedony (see above) consisting of parallel layers of different shades of color. The Greek word meaning fingernail (see onycha), from which onyx is taken, has 112 /

112 READER’S GUIDE TO THE KING JAMES BIBLE

to do more with its slightly translucent character than with its shape or color.

The onyx has a white top layer combined with a black

bottom one. It is used in making cameos, the figure being cut in the top layer would thus appear black on a white background.

Onyx is the same as banded agate, except the alternately colored bands of onyx are always straight and parallel.

It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the

precious ONYX, or the sapphire (Job 28:16).

Numerous other references.

This word is a guaranteed winner in a game of Hangman, as are hymnal, Egypt, myrrh and specie. Always glad to help in any way I can.

161.

OSSIFRAGE

And these are they which ye shall have in abomination

among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an

abomination: the eagle, and the OSSIFRAGE, and the ospray

(Leviticus 11:13).

In the Latin os or ossi means bone and frage means “a fractum or a break.” If you fracture a fragile bone you must see an osteopath.

This bird of prey is known, obviously, for its method of killing its prey. The ossifrage is remarkable for while it is a vulture, it has the neck covered with feathers like the true eagles, and is a predator, while other vultures feed strictly on carrion. It is black with white markings.

The name is used for the young of the sea eagle, or the bald eagle.

The Biblical ossifrage is also known as a lammergeir.

162.

OUCHES

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And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou

shalt fasten in the two OUCHES, and put them on the shoulder

pieces of the ephod before it (Exodus 28:25).

This is a strange term indeed. Ouch is a noun, and is a corrupted form of nouch. It is a bezel (the part of a ring which encompasses and fastens the stone), or socket, in which a precious stone or seal is set.

So the ouches of gold spoken of in Exodus 28:11-14 and 39:6-18 were ornate rings for holding the gemstones which covered the high priest’s ephod.

163.

PARADISE

To search out the origin and meaning of a word often is not always necessary to understanding its meaning. Sometimes it is just thrilling to see how perfectly our Bible has made use of the tongues of men.

Paradise is the transliteration of an old Persian word, pairidaeza, which means an enclosed park or garden.

As a result of tracing the location of the tree of life, and paradise, through the scriptures (chronologically), I have long believed that paradise and the garden which the Lord God planted eastward in Eden are the same place. Finding the true meaning of the word paradise seems to confirm that view.

He that hath and ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith

unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of

the tree of life, which is in the midst of the PARADISE of God

(Revelation 2:7).

See also Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:4.

164.

PATRIMONY

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Here we have the masculine designation, as in pa, papa, padre.

Patrimony is the right or state inherited from one’s

ancestors, the lineage running through the male.

They shall have like portions to eat, beside that which

cometh of the sale of his PATRIMONY (Deuteronomy 18:8).

Following the lead of a miserable world, there is a move on for “Bibles” which are gender neutral. This is done in an attempt to console individuals who feel that somehow God has cheated them. For the first such case see Eve in the garden. For later ensamples see “Christian Rock Stars” (oxymoron) who keep their “stage name” after marriage for commercial and financial reasons.

It annoys these rebels that God began the huMAN race with Adam and that every perSON who descends from him is either a MAN or a woMAN.

Some of these angry woMEN have opted to keep their

maiden name when married, thinking that by so doing they are escaping their husband’s name. However, these feMALES keep not their own name, but that of their father.

The way of transgressors is hard (Proverbs 13:15).

165.

PENURY

This is the absence of means or resources, want, privation, indigence, poverty.

The widow who cast only two mites into the treasury of the Lord’s house gave far more than the wealthy who made large contributions. For all these have of their abundance cast in

unto the offerings of God: but she of her PENURY hath cast in

all the living that she had (Luke 21:4).

When we take the time to check these words they add such depth of meaning to the passages in which they are found.

No one would fault this unfortunate woman for keeping

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claimed she couldn’t afford to support the work of the ministry.

She could have sought for others that would give into her hand.

But, like the noble woman in the days of Elijah, she gave her all to the God she loved.

166.

PERADVENTURE

Per is a Latin preposition meaning through, by means of, through the agency of or by. It is frequently used as a prefix in compound words.

An adventure is that of which one has no direction, risk, chance.

So peradventure is a fancy way of saying by chance or

something which happens without having directions drawn up beforehand.

In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if

God PERADVENTURE will give them repentance to the

acknowledging of the truth (2 Timothy 2:25).

The word is used twenty-nine times in scripture, which must annoy those holding extreme notions of predestination and the sovereignty of God.

167.

PERNICIOUS

And many shall follow their PERNICIOUS ways; by

reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (2 Peter 2:2).

This is a Latin word taken from pernicies, meaning destruction, and pernecare, meaning to kill or slay completely. It combines the prefix per, meaning thoroughly, and necare, meaning to kill or slay. Necare, in turn, comes from nex or necis which is a violent death.

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Pernicious, therefore, is having the quality of killing, destroying, or injuring; very injurious or mischievous, destructive.

Such are the ways of false teachers and such are the results of their damnable heresies. They bring such doom upon themselves, their followers and the testimony of many a once-steadfast Christian and local church.

168 – 169.

PHYLACTERIES – FRONTLETS

Phylactery is a Greek word meaning a watcher or a guard. A phy was any charm, spell, or amulet worn as a preservative from danger or disease.

A frontlet is a frontal-band or brow-band worn on the

forehead.

The Pharisees made little boxes into which slips of

parchment were placed. These pieces of paper contained passages from the Pentateuch (usually Exodus 13:1-10; Exodus 13:11-16, Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21. They would make a frontlet of these phylacteries and wear them while at prayer.

The idea comes from (where else) misreading the scriptures.

In the law, the Hebrews were told Therefore shall ye lay up

these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them

for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as FRONTLETS

between your eyes (Deuteronomy 11:18; see also 6:8 for the same wording).

Jesus condemned the Pharisees and scribes for reducing the scripture to the place of a rabbit’s foot or lucky charm. But all

their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad

their PHYLACTERIES, and enlarge the borders of the

garments, (Matthew 23:5).

It is also quite typical of Pharisees (and their spiritual descendants) to take those portions of the scripture which suit their argument or purpose, and ignore those portions which are not meet (see above).

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In Exodus 13:16 God told the Hebrews not forget His

wondrous deliverance on Passover night. In order to help them to remember they were told to make their firstborn males as frontlets between their eyes. I have yet to behold an ultra-orthodox Jew at the Wailing Wall with his son strapped to his forehead.

170.

PILLED

The little round pill one swallows is a noun. This is a verb, the past tense of to pill. Pill is an alternate spelling for peel, a form of which is found in all the romance languages.

It means to peel or cause to come off in flakes. The Bible uses the word to describe the work Jacob did on the rods to provoke his livestock to breed more actively.

And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel

and chesnut tree; and PILLED white strakes in them, and

made the white appear which was in the rods. And he set the

rods which he had PILLED before the flocks in the gutters in

the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they

should conceive when they came to drink (Genesis 30:37-38).

It seems the outcome here had more to do with the blessing of God than the pilled rods in the water, for I tried this on our farm with no result.

171.

PLAITING

Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of

PLAITING the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of

apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which

is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit,

which is in the sight of God of great price (1 Peter 3:3-4).

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To plait is to fold, to double as of cloth; to braid as of hair or straw; to double in narrow folds, as to plait a gown or sleeve; to interweave the strands or locks of or to braid.

There is nothing here to puzzle the reader, but many have been troubled by men who will wrest the scriptures to bring the word of God into line with their convictions.

The passage here calls for a woman to devote herself to inward beauty, not outward; to heart perfection, not sartorial elegance.

Yet, some have used this verse to forbid all attention to the appearance of the woman’s hair and wearing of any gold or jewelry. These teachers of “standards” and these who thunder out their “convictions” as though such were divine decrees, always fail to note that the same verse says or of putting on of

apparel.

In order to be consistent, such a teaching would have to forbid women to put on clothing.

You cannot ignore the WORDS in their context without

perverting the doctrine.

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POMMELS

To wit, the two pillars, and the POMMELS, and the

chapiters which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two

wreaths to cover the two POMMELS of the chapiters which

were on the top of the pillars; (2 Chronicles 4:12).

A pommel is a knob or ball; an object resembling a ball in form as the knob on a hilt of a sword or the protuberant (see above) part of a saddle.

In case you are ever asked, the round protrusion on the hinder part of a cannon is called a pommelion.

173.

PRATING

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This is to talk much without weight, or to little purpose; to be loquacious (given to continual talking, apt to blab or disclose secrets).

Those who love to have a preeminent place in the church always envy those whom God has put in positions of leadership.

The jealous ones will constantly be seeking to hurt such leaders by evil use of their tongue. Their words carry no weight, but such persons hope if they talk long enough and to enough people, someone, someday, will give them a little of the honor they crave.

Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he

doeth, PRATING against us with malicious words: and not

content therewith neither doth he himself receive the brethren,

and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the

church (3 John 10).

174.

PRESSFAT

Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty

measures, there were but ten: when one came to the

PRESSFAT for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there

were but twenty (Haggai 2:16).

In the Old Saxon, a fat was a large vessel or cistern; a large cask-like receptacle, especially one used for holding liquors which were yet in an immature state.

The older the work of literature, the more frequently you will see words spelled with an f which have a v spelling in modern English.

What we have here is the press-vat. The fresh grapes would be pressed (usually with the feet – a good reason to abstain), and the new wine would flow out of the press into accompanying container.

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PROFANE

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Here we have the Latin pro “before” and fanum, “temple.”

Those within the temple were considered holy, while those outside the temple ( pro fanum) were unholy, or profane.

This word, and its other scriptural forms (profaned,

profaneness, profaneth, profaning) describes something one would not say or do in the presence of a holy God.

Fallen men are materialistic. They will clean up their language and behavior inside a particular building and return to their evil ways as soon as they vacate said premises. This proves two things: first, they could control their speech and actions if they so desired; second, they don’t have the slightest understanding of the true and living God, who dwelleth not in temples made with hands.

176.

PROPITIATION

Here is another grand theological term. This is a close kin of justification (see above).

Propitiation is the act of appeasing wrath and conciliating the favor of an offended person. It is the influence of the death of Christ in appeasing the divine justice and conciliating the divine favor through the atonement or atoning sacrifice.

How’s that for preaching material from a dictionary?!

The wrath of God was directed against us because of our iniquities. There was nothing that we could do to appease this wrath of the thrice-holy God. Yet, the Lord Jesus Christ stepped down from heaven’s glory and bare our sins in his own body on

the tree. He took our place of death.

On the cross at Calvary His precious blood was shed, and by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, once for all, a propitiation was made. This offering appeased the wrath of God the Father.

And he is the PROPITIATION for our sins: and not for

ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2).

See also Romans 3:25 and 1 John 4:10.

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177.

PURLOINING

To purloin is to take or carry away for oneself, hence, to steal or to take by theft. A purloiner is a thief, and to purloin is to practice theft.

Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and

to please them well in all things; not answering again; Not

PURLOINING, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may

adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things (Titus 2:9-10).

One may steal a hammer from the job. A thief will lift money from the employer’s cash drawer. Those standing idle while “on the clock” are guilty of purloining. They are taking the owner’s time and using it for themselves.

We should be witnesses for the Lord Jesus everywhere we go. Yet, part of our witness is our obedience to the word of God.

If one can work and witness he should do so. However, to let others carry the load while you stand about preaching is not only to defraud one’s employer but such a practice will nullify one’s witness.

178.

PUTRIFYING

Something putrifying is decaying offensively; decomposing and rotting; tending to dissolution or decay.

How dreadful this makes the Lord’s rebuke of His

backsliding people: From the sole of the foot even unto the

head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and

PUTRIFYING sores: they have not been closed, neither bound

up, neither mollified with ointment (Isaiah 1:6).

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PYGARG

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The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the

wild goat, and the PYGARG, and the wild ox, and the chamois

(Deuteronomy 14:5).

Here is another of those peculiar Bible creatures. Our English word pygarg comes from the Greek word pygargus, which literally means white rump.

The name pygarg is used for all quadrupeds of the antelope and gazelle species which possess white rumps.

Some argue that the pygarg of Deuteronomy 14 is a species of buzzard, but the Biblical grouping of this animal is with the four-legged mammals, not the fowls of the air.

180.

RAILER

This unsavory character is one who uses insolent and

reproachful language to utter reproaches. To rail is to scoff and then act against or on; i.e., you would not rail some one but you would rail on or rail against someone.

How sad that such a term defines the “Bible-believing”

Christian as often as it does the critics of the scriptures.

In scripture we have rail (2 Chronicles 32:17), railed (1

Samuel 25:14; Mark 15:29; Luke 23:39), railer (1 Corinthians 5:11), and railing (1 Peter 3:9; 2 Peter 2:11; Jude 9).

He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions

and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, RAILINGS,

evil surmisings (1 Timothy 6:4).

The Bible calls on the Christian to speak always with grace.

While a seasoning of salt is commanded, reproachful language is condemned. What contradictions we see in this day, when a man can be both a “defender of the faith” and a railer.

May God help us to defend His word while living in

obedience to His word.

181.

RANK

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This word has a variety of meanings. It can be used for order, or odor, or a military degree. It can be a measure of dignity or an aggregate of individuals together, such as a social class. Rank can mean to arrange or set or dispose into division, as to rank members of a class.

In Genesis 41 Pharaoh has a dream about corn. And he slept

and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn

came up upon one stalk, RANK and good (verse 5). Did he dream of orderly corn or corn with a strong smell? Perhaps he dreamed of dignified corn tall and upright, or of corn arranged in orderly rows and divided into parcels based on variety. None of these seem to satisfy the intent of the passage.

There is one more definition of rank which, though seldom used, is the one that fits the verse above. Rank may also mean luxuriant in growth, exuberant, of vigorous growth, such as rank grass or weeds. This one fits the bill.

182.

RAVENING

Furiously voracious; hungry even to rage; devouring with rapacious eagerness is the way this word is defined. Such are the enemies of the Lord’s people: Beware of false prophets, which

come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are

RAVENING wolves (Matthew 7:15).

Ravenous also means eager for prey or gratification; as, ravenous appetite or desire. This seems to be the sense of the prophecy regarding Benjamin. Benjamin shall RAVIN as a

wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he

shall divide the spoil (Genesis 49:27).

See also Psalms 22:13; Ezekiel 22:25-27; Luke 11:39. For

ravenous see Isaiah 35:9; 46:11; Ezekiel 39:4.

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RECONCILE

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The prefix here is obvious; re, to do again or make new. To reconcile is to conciliate anew, to restore to union and friendship, to bring back into harmony, to cause to be no longer at variance, to restore to friendship or favor after estrangement.

These New Testament words, which are used to describe our salvation, are unsearchable. God and man once had a union and friendship. Because of sin they were set at variance. Man became estranged from God. How could the two differing parties ever be brought back into harmony?

And all things are of God, who hath RECONCILED us to

himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of

RECONCILIATION; To wit, that God was in Christ,

RECONCILING the world unto himself, not imputing their

trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of

RECONCILIATION. Now then we are ambassadors for

Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in

Christ’s stead, be ye RECONCILED to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).

Man is now returned to favor with God, and all of this is the Lord’s doing. Conciliate means to win over; to gain from a state of indifference or hostility. Man does not care that he is lost. It does not bother him to be separated from God. In fact, he is hostile toward his maker. But God, in Christ, wins us over.

Jesus gains, for His Father, those ruined and blinded by sin.

Salvation is of the Lord! Praise His wonderful name.

184.

REDOUND

Re is a prefix meaning again or back. Dound comes from undare, a Latin word meaning to rise in waves or surges, or from unda, also a Latin word, which means a wave again or back.

To redound is to come back as a consequence or result; to have effect; a requital or echo.

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In 2 Corinthians 4:15 we read: For all things are for your

sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving

of many REDOUND to the glory of God.

Paul allowed Christ to live His life through an earthen vessel. He gave himself completely to the Lord and as a result he found himself living wholly for others. When it came time to reap what he had sown, the harvest came back to Paul, but continued beyond the messenger and made its way to God. He lived his life among men for the glory of God. The echo of his living was God being glorified through the thanksgiving of men.

May the Lord enable us to follow such a noble example, and bring well-deserved honor to the Saviour.

185.

REPROBATE

They profess that they know God; but in works they deny

him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good

work REPROBATE (Titus 1:16).

From the high ground of reconciliation and the glory of God, we plunge into the mire of reprobation. To reprobate is to disapprove with detestation or marks of extreme dislike, to disallow or reject, to abandon to punishment without hope or pardon.

Those possessing reprobate minds do not just reject the word of reconciliation, they hate it. As a result of their rejection of God’s salvation they are abandoned to punishment. Contrary to the false teachings of the Universalists, such have no hope, and for their souls there is no pardon.

It should be noted that probate means proof, official proof; especially the proof before a competent officer or tribunal. This means that each time reprobate minds are presented with Biblical truth, their detestation grows. Such will not be penitent at the white-throne judgment. When presented with official proof of their guilt before the great tribunal they, will manifest their extreme dislike.

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186.

RIGOUR

And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with

RIGOUR: And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage,

in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the

field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with

RIGOUR (Exodus 1:13-14).

The word rigour means severity; exactness without

allowance. There was no mercy shown by these Egyptian taskmasters. No allowance was made for the weakness of the Hebrew people nor the scarcity of suitable building materials available to them. Such was the suffering of the Hebrews in Egypt.

Rigour includes violence, fury and fierceness. In this one word we see the hard faces, shouts and cursings, the whips and beatings which fell upon the seed of Abraham. All the dreadful sufferings of an enslaved people, and they are many, can be poured into a single word.

By taking the time to research a word’s definition one can unlock this abundance of meaning and imagery.

See also Leviticus 25:43, 46, 53.

187.

RUE

Rue is a small shrub, growing two to four feet high which has a strong, heavy odor and a bitter taste. Though Westerners find the odor disagreeable, it is a favorite of Orientals. They will often attach a sprig of rue to the cap or clothing of a child.

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Tales are much more interesting and have far more spiritual insight than the traditions of Mystery Babylon.

But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and RUE

and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love

of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other

undone (Luke 11:42).

188.

SACKBUT

That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute,

harp, SACKBUT, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick,

ye fall down and worship the golden image that

Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: (Daniel 3:5 also verses 7, 10, 15).

When King Nebby’s band got the Babylonians in the mood to bow down to an image of the beast, a sackbut was one of the instruments used to prompt the proper response.

A sackbut is a brass wind instrument of music, like a

trumpet, so contrived that it can be lengthened or shortened according to the tone required. It is very similar to the modern trombone.

The musicians among our readers will find the origin of this word most interesting. The Spanish word sacar means to draw as with a pump. Buche is the maw (see above) or stomach.

Because the one who blows this instrument must draw breath, as it were from the stomach, with great force, the name sackbut is literally to pump the stomach.

189.

SAFFRON

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varieties, which, like the cultivated one, have orange-colored styles and stigmas which yield the yellow dye, saffron.

Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant

fruits; camphire, with spikenard, Spikenard and SAFFRON;

calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh

and aloes, with all the chief spices: (Song of Solomon 4:13-14).

190.

SAPPHIRE

Once again we find our study on the rocks.

The sapphire is pure, crystallized aluminum. It occurs in hexagonal crystals and also in grains and massive (in mass; having a crystalline structure, but not a regular form).

The chemical composition of the sapphire is the same as that of the ruby. The red color of the ruby is caused by the presence of chromium; the blue color of the sapphire is caused by traces of iron and titanium.

The most beautiful sapphires come from Kashmir, India and are a cornflower blue. Those of Burma, Thailand and Sri Lanka have a lighter color.

The largest such stone ever found was discovered in Upper Burma. It was a crystal of 63,000 carats.

The name “sapphire” is usually restricted to the blue crystals while the bright red are called oriental ruby. The amethystine, oriental amethyst, and the dull massive varieties of this stone are called corundum or emery.

The sapphire has an interesting feature called asterism. In some specimens of this semi-transparent stone, light passing through them shows a six-pointed star in the direction of the stone’s axis. Microscopic needles of rutile crystals inside the gem reflect light in such a way that three lines cross each other, forming a six-pointed star which seems to float over the stone.

When this star is well and beautifully formed, the gem is called a star sapphire and is of great price.

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Those that feared the LORD spake often one to another

and one day God will make jewels of them (Malachi 3:16-17), and some of them shall shine as stars (Daniel 12:3).

Such a glorious resurrection is pictured in the sapphire.

Sapphire is next in hardness to the diamond.

Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was

above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it

were a SAPPHIRE stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a

throne (Ezekiel 10:1).

Numerous other references.

191.

SARDINE

This is not pronounced sar-deen, for that little Mediterranean fish was not on Aaron’s breastplate.

This is the sar-dine (long i). It is a precious stone, known also as a carnelian. This gem is a variety of chalcedony, clear deep red, flesh red, or reddish white in color. It is moderately hard, capable of good polish and often used for official seals.

Since this stone is red and the commentators know a ruby is red, they rush in to tell us that the sardine should be a sardius and then that the sardius should be a ruby.

Such “scholarship” would conclude that canaries are yellow and meadowlarks are yellow so, meadowlarks must be canaries.

The Hebrew name for sardius is odem. This name is closely related to Adam, which means red earth and to Edom, the name for Esau, whose red pigment was notable. Neither of these men were blood-red, as is the ruby.

And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a

SARDINE stone: and there was a rainbow round about the

throne, in sight like unto an emerald (Revelation 4:3).

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SARDONYX

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This makes three stones in a row. This one, as you might have guessed, is aligned to onyx (see above).

The sardonyx has parallel bands, a light colored layer being combined with a darker one. Some sardonyx have white layers alternated by brown ones. I also have photos of specimens with white, brown and blue bands, and others with reddish-yellow or nearly orange tints, rather than brown. The coloration is probably due to small amounts of iron.

In the Rosicrucian jewels the sardonyx appears as the gem of victorious ecstasy and rapture which flow from the eternal font of delight, banishing grief and woe. Once again, we must point out, their rock is not as our Rock, for ours is alive and can deliver what their dead stones can only promise.

The fifth, SARDONYX; the sixth, sardius; the seventh,

chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a

chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst

(Revelation 21:20).

193.

SATIATE

This word means to be filled to the point of being glutted.

To satiate is to satisfy the appetite or desire, to feed to the full, or to fill beyond natural desire. It is a synonym of gluttony.

Remember those hot summer days when you would play ball until you began to grow dizzy from the heat? Someone would call for a break, and you would race for the garden hose and drink until your sides ached, and it hurt to move about. We called this being water-logged. The Bible calls it being satiated.

And I will SATIATE the soul of the priests with fatness,

and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the

Lord (Jeremiah 31:14).

See also Jeremiah 31:25; 46:10.

194.

SATYR

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The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild

beasts of the island, and the SATYR shall cry to his fellow; the

screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of

rest (Isaiah 34:14).

Here the commentators and Bible revisers fall all over themselves in their attempts to be the first to heap scorn upon the King James Bible. They do all they can to convince their readers that the satyr does not exist and that, therefore, the Authorized Version must be in error. But then, as is so often the case, they can offer us no answer as to what should be substituted for the word they reject.

That some sort of devil, or creature in Satan’s service, is intended is clear in the context of the verses referring to satyrs.

The Bible dictionaries point out that the Hebrew word here is literally he-goat but then cannot make the obvious connection to the antichrist of Daniel 7 and 8.

Others inform us that the word is the same as that used for hairy in the description of Esau found in Genesis 27:11 but then fail to instruct their readers as to the history of the Edomites and their attempts to annihilate the chosen Hebrew race.

A satyr is a sylvan (related to woods or forest) deity or demigod, represented as a monster, being part man and part goat.

He is characterized by riotous merriment and lasciviousness.

Anyone who knows Biblical prophecy and Old Testament

history knows that the mingling of fallen beings with humans and beasts has always resulted in an overall decay of societal morality.

These satyrs may be creatures transforming themselves (2

Corinthians 11) in order to deceive the simple, or an actual race of beings. We cannot say. One thing is certain, the God who inspired the scriptures knows all things. If He says there are satyrs we do not need to see one to believe Him.

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us have seen a satyr, at least no one I know, but, by faith, we must accept the Biblical declaration as to their existence.

The most famous of the satyrs is Pan, who plays a prominent part in the mythology of the Greeks. He has the legs, horns and beard of a goat, and he has cloven hooves. He teaches the gods to play music upon pipes. He began as the shepherd god responsible for keeping the sheep safe in their green pastures.

He ended up seducing the moon goddess by disguising himself in dazzling white. He eventually came to symbolize the universal god, the Great All. Quite a counterfeit, wouldn’t you say?!

See also Isaiah 13:21.

195.

SCALL

This is another medical term. It is found in the chapter on leprosy. It is a dry skull, usually a leprosy on the head. When the infections on the head become scabby, they are called scalls.

Then the priest shall see the plague: and, behold, if it be in

sight deeper than the skin; and there be in it a yellow thin hair;

then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a dry

SCALL, even a leprosy upon the head or beard (Leviticus 13:30).

196.

SCHISM

That there should be no SCHISM in the body; but that the

members should have the same care one for another (1

Corinthians 12:25).

This is a division or separation, specifically a permanent division or separation in the Christian church occasioned by diversity of opinions or any other reason. It is a breach of unity among people of the same religious faith. It is also the offense of seeking to produce a division in the church without justifiable cause.

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Of course, all schism-atics think their cause is justifiable, but how the heart of the Lord (the Head of the one body in which all blood bought children are united), must be grieved over those who divide into denominations and divide because they are not a denomination and divide over reasons so petty they are embarrassed to own them publicly.

The verse above says that the origin of all such divisions is men loving themselves more than they love their brethren. To place a name, or the lack of a name, ahead of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ is a shameful practice. How sad, that to many such divisiveness is a mark of spirituality or proof they are the

“one true church.” God help us!

197.

SEETHE

This is to decoct (to prepare by boiling) or prepare food in hot liquid, to boil.

The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto

the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not SEETHE a kid

in his mother’s milk (Exodus 34:26).

Wilson, in his Dictionary of Bible Types, says this is probably used to describe the destructive influences resulting from putting a good thing to an improper use. The mother’s milk was for the nourishment of the kid, but here it becomes the instrument of the baby’s death. Thus, it would seem, the lesson is that the Lord does not want us using that which he has given us for constructive purposes and using it for destructive purposes.

Other writers, including Freeman in Manners and Customs of the Bible and Cudworth, connect the prohibition with the practices of the heathen. According to these men, oriental farmers would stew the kid in the mother’s milk and then sprinkle the stew over their crops and fields in order to make them fertile. An ancient commentary on the Pentateuch ( Karaite) says that orchards and gardens were also sprinkled in 134 /

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this manner at the close of harvest in hopes of securing a blessing the following year.

Thomson in The Land and the Book says, “The Arabs select a young kid, fat and tender, dress it carefully, and then stew it in milk, generally sour, mixed with onions and hot spices such as they relish. They call it Lebnimmu-kid (in his mother’s milk).”

Numerous other references.

198.

SELVEDGE

Here is another term taken from the instructions for

furnishing the tabernacle in the wilderness. And he coupled the

five curtains one unto another: and the other five curtains he

coupled one unto another. And he made loops of blue on the

edge of one curtain from the SELVEDGE in the coupling:

likewise he made in the uttermost side of another curtain, in

the coupling of the second (Exodus 36:10-11).

This is a border on the edge of a cloth, woven in such a manner as to prevent raveling, and often closed by complicating the threads.

See also Exodus 26:4.

199.

SHAMBLES

This is the flesh market, the place where the butcher’s meat is prepared, hung in the open air, and sold.

Americans are not familiar with the term because the

government (with a bit of a nudge from Sinclair Lewis) has decided such things should be kept out of sight.

Whatsoever is sold in the SHAMBLES, that eat, asking no

question for conscience sake: (1 Corinthians 10:25).

200.

SIGNET

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A sign is a token; something by which another thing is shown or represented. A sign is also some visible transaction, event or appearance intended as proof or evidence of something else. Thirdly, sign is the subscription of one’s name.

Signet is a derivative of sign, taken from the French of the same spelling. It is a seal, especially one used by a sovereign in certifying private letters and grants. When something was impressed with the king’s signet, such was visible proof that his name was attached thereunto.

And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the

den; and the king sealed it with his own SIGNET, and with the

SIGNET of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed

concerning Daniel (Daniel 6:17).

Numerous other references.

201.

SINEW

Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced

me with bones and SINEWS (Job 10:11).

I am forever mispronouncing this word. It is not si-new (long i sound), but sin-ewe (short i sound).

Sinew is that which unites a muscle to a bone. It is also used of a muscle or nerve, though rarely. It can be put for that which supplies strength, but such usage is most unusual.

See also Genesis 32:32; Job 30:17; 40:17; Isaiah 48:4; Ezekiel 37:6-8.

202. SOBER

While this word, which has its equals in all the romance languages, carries the primary meaning of “temperate in the use of spirituous liquors” it would be a great error to limit the word to this single meaning.

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Sober means not mad or insane; not wild, visionary, or heated with passion; exercising cool, dispassionate reason.

A man who is sober is thus serious in demeanor, habit and appearance, and one who is, to use another Biblical term, grave.

The Holy Spirit produces this quality in a yielded believer under the term temperance (Galatians 5:23).

203.

STACTE

This peculiar word comes from Greek and Latin words

which mean oozing out in drops.

Stacte is a fatty, resinous, very odoriferous (gives off a strong smell) liquid. It is a kind of myrrh which distills or falls in drops from the trees or from fresh myrrh or cinnamon. It has been used throughout time as a type of perfume.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet

spices, STACTE, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet

spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like

weight (Exodus 30:34).

204.

STANCH

And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which

had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be

healed of any, Came behind him, and touched the border of his

garment: and immediately her issue of blood STANCHED

(Luke 8:43-44).

As an adjective this word means strong and tight, coming from the Portuguese estancar meaning not leaky, in reference to a ship.

The transient verb, which is the usage in the passage cited above, means to stop the flowing of, as blood; to dry up. In the passage at hand, Jesus stopped the flow of blood and made the body of the woman strong.

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By now the reader should have come to realize that a large number of the difficult words in the Bible can be understood, even without exact definitions, by paying careful attention to the context in which they are found.

205.

STOCK

Here is a word with many definitions, and one of the most unusual is found in the pages of the Bible.

The first reference we shall consider is found in Hosea 4:12, where we read: My people ask counsel at their STOCKS, and

their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms

hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from

under their God.

While a great many money-worshipping Americans trust in their stocks (and bonds), this is a different situation.

The primary definition of a stock is the stem or main body of a tree or plant. What we are dealing with in Hosea is a totem pole type operation where the people were trying to contact the spirits within these stocks of wood and asking them for advice.

This cultic practice survives today in table-tapping, oui-ja (“yea, yea” {French and German}) boards, and the like.

There is much said in the Bible to link trees and spiritism.

In the United States we are seeing a revival of the practices which resulted in the Shemites being driven off their North American homelands. This is called New Age, but it is ancient spiritual harlotry according to the words of the Lord.

Jeremiah 3:9 is another peculiar passage. And it came to

pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled

the land, and committed adultery with stones and with

STOCKS.

Whether the reference here is to the heart’s wandering after other gods or to the literal practice of abominations we dare not discuss, cannot be stated for certain, but there is no new thing under the sun.

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Many other uses of stock and stocks are made in scripture.

We shall not address the more common uses of the words.

206.

STRAKES

This is but an alternate spelling of two familiar words. The first is streaks, the e being located at the end of the word instead of the middle.

And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel

and chesnut tree; and pilled white STRAKES in them, and

made the white appear which was in the rods…And the flocks

conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle

RINGSTRAKED, speckled, and spotted (Genesis 30:37-39).

The second use is an alternate spelling of struck. In Acts 27:17 strake, is put for the preterit tense of to strike . Preterit refers to the past. It is applied to the tense in grammar which expresses an action, or being perfectly past, or finished. It often refers to what is just past or finished but without a specification of time. (The Bible student may recognize this word as being used by the preterist or praeterist school of prophetic interpretation, i.e., the teaching that all fulfillment of Biblical prophecy is past).

Which when they had taken up, they used helps,

undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into

the quicksands, STRAKE sail, and so were driven.

See also Leviticus 14:37.

207.

STROWED – STRAWED

Strowed and strawed are alternate spellings of the same word. Interestingly they are past tense renderings of the word is strew. The breakdown on this one is strew, strewing, strewment but not strewed. I could not locate the reason for this switch in vowels. The modern past tense is strewn, but that is a recent THE DEFINITIONS / 139

139

invention (probably to help kids with spelling tests or copy editors with deadlines).

To strew is to scatter or spread by scattering. It is always applied to dry substances separable into parts or particles, such as to strew seed to birds.

And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in

the fire, and ground it to powder, and STRAWED it upon the

water, and made the children of Israel drink of it (Exodus 32:20).

And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence;

and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down;

and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images,

he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and STROWED it

upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them (2

Chronicles 34:4).

See also Matthew 21:8; 25:24-26; Mark 11:8

208.

SUCCOUR

Most readers have a dreadful time trying to pronounce this word. This is a homonym of sucker. This may be the most often mispronounced word in the Bible; only draught (Matthew 15:17, pronounced draft) comes close.

It means to run to or run to support, hence, to help or relieve when in difficulty, want or distress; to assist and deliver from suffering.

Notice the depth of meaning a knowledge of the definition gives to the following verse. For in that he himself (the Lord Jesus Christ) hath suffered being tempted, he is able to

SUCCOUR (not just help or relieve, but run to do so) them that

are tempted (Hebrews 2:18).

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beyond belief. Jesus Christ hastens to the aid of all those who know Him as personal Saviour. What tongue can rightly tell of the wonders of His love? Eternal ages are necessary if we are to praise Him as we should.

209.

SUPERFLUITY

Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and SUPERFLUITY of

naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word,

which is able to save your souls (James 1:21).

Here is a beautiful Elizabethan expression in the majestic cadence and noble rendering of the King James translation.

Superfluity of naughtiness has always been one of my very favorite Biblical terms.

The word is prefixed with super, which signifies above, over or in excess. The second half of the word, fluity, is akin to fluid or liquid. Superfluity is a far greater quantity than is wanted, a super abundance of something. The connection to fluid implies that this abundance flows out.

Before one meets the Lord Jesus there is such an

overabundance of naughtiness that it flows out of the heart.

After one is born again, the indwelling Holy Spirit will produce rivers of living water which flow from the inner man (John 7:38).

Oh, what a difference when Jesus takes control!

210.

SUPERFLUOUS

This is very similar to the word just studied. Superfluous means more than is wanted or sufficient; rendered unnecessary by superabundance; needless; excessive.

For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is

SUPERFLUOUS for me to write to you (2 Corinthians 9:1).

See also Leviticus 21:18; 22:23.

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211. SUPERSTITIOUS

Here is a word that people assume has some connection to witchcraft or folklore, but in reality it describes anyone who is zealously devoted to a false belief or system of worship.

When the apostle Paul rebuked the Athenians for being too

superstitious (Acts 17:22) he was not charging them with the use of rabbits’ feet, avoiding the number 13 or laying on open Bible on the dash board of their car.

Superstition is an excessive exactness or rigor in religious opinions or practice; extreme and unnecessary scruples in the observance of religious rites NOT COMMANDED, or of points of MINOR IMPORTANCE; excess or extravagance in religion; the doing of things NOT REQUIRE BY GOD, or abstaining

from things NOT FORBIDDEN.

It is plain to see the pagans, protestants, catholics and fundamentalists all have an equal affinity to superstitious practices. Are you worshipping the Lord in spirit and in truth or have “standards”, creeds, rules, regulations and rituals made you too superstitious?

212.

SURFEITING

Church members, and preachers in particular, should know this word. It means to eat or drink in excess; to feed so as to oppress the stomach and derange the functions of the system; to overfeed to the point of sickness and uneasiness; to be fed or feast until the system is oppressed.

Sounds like dinner-on-the-grounds to me.

And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be

overcharged with SURFEITING, and drunkenness, and cares

of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares (Luke 21:34).

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Preaching against the lust for food seems to be the one remaining taboo of the pulpit. Men will decry addiction to tobacco, narcotics and liquor, but fear to tread upon the ground of excessive eating. One needs but glance about to see how many in our day have made a god of their belly. In the passage above the Lord places surfeiting and drunkenness on the same ground.

The man who cannot refuse strong drink and the man who cannot refuse food he does not need are both slaves to the lusts of their flesh. Again, you’re welcome.

213.

SURMISING

Here is one that, so sadly, is more common among the saints than even surfeiting.

Sur is a prefix taken from the French and contracted from the Latin supra. It signifies over, above or beyond. To surmise is to imagine without certain knowledge, to infer or to suppose.

Surmising is drawing conclusions without having all the facts. It is to believe more than you know to be true.

Here is the safe rule for maintaining fellowships and right relationships: never act without all the facts.

He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions

and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil

SURMISINGS (1 Timothy 6:4).

Eli saw Hannah’s tears flowing, body shaking, lips moving but heard no sound of speech. He assumed she was a drunken woman. He was dead wrong. He drew his conclusion from his imagination, not from the facts of the matter. This is evil surmising.

I recall a night on which I was to visit a family that had begun to attend our local church. Not long before I was to leave there was a terrible electrical storm which knocked out our phone line. When I went to the car to make the visit the engine would not start.

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We live way out in the country. Our nearest neighbors at the time lived 1 ½ miles away. They were not at home. Thus, it was nearly six miles to the nearest telephone.

I could not make the visit, nor could I call and explain why.

Those I was to visit spent the evening in evil surmisings. By the time I saw them again the relationship was damaged beyond repair because of what they imagined had happened.

In two decades of ministry I have seen more problems

among professing Christians which grew out of things which never happened than those which grew out of actual events.

People create offenses in their mind and then ruin friendships on the basis of these inventions.

May God help us, please, to live in the realm of fact, not cruel fantasy.

214 – 215. SYCAMINE – SYCOMORE

Here is one of the most ridiculed verses in the Bible. Then

answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither

was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of

SYCOMORE fruit: (Amos 7:14).

Scholars (falsely so called, see Appendix E) and Bible critics argue that this verse is in error because the sycamore tree doesn’t bear any fruit. Again, we see the failure on the part of these distinguished infidels is to believe every word (Proverbs 30:5) of the book they are handling.

The word here comes directly from the French sycomore and is sister of the Latin sycomorus. In both these languages, as well as the Greek, the reference is to the fig-mulberry and the black mulberry. The Hebrew variant of the word designates the same.

The sycomore is a large tree (ficus sycomorus), allied to the common fig. It is found in Egypt and Syria. This is the sycomore of scripture. It most definitely bears fruit.

In America the plane-tree or buttonwood is called sycamore (note the different spelling). Apparently American “scholars”

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looked out the window, saw a sycamore tree without fruit, and concluded the Bible needed revising.

The sycamine tree of Luke 17:6 is not simply a different spelling of the sycomore but is a third species of tree. This word is from the Latin sykaminos. This tree has often been confounded by ancient and modern writers with the sycomore and the common mulberry, but is a different tree all together.

And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard

seed, ye might say unto this SYCAMINE tree, Be thou plucked

up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should

obey you (Luke 17:6).

The Creator knows a mulberry tree when He sees one (2

Samuel 5:23-24; 1 Chronicles 14:14-15), and He said this was a sycamine.

See also 1 Kings 10:27; 1 Chronicles 27:28; 2 Chronicles 1:15; 9:27; Psalms 78:47; Isaiah 9:10; Luke 19:4.

216 – 217. TABERING – TABRET

And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought

up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves,

TABERING upon their breasts (Nahum 2:7).

A taber and a tabor are the same thing. They are small drums used as an accompaniment to a pipe or fife. To tabor is to strike lightly and frequently.

The people in the verse above are smiting themselves

repeatedly.

A tabret or tabouret is a small tabor.

After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the

garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou

art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of

prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and

a TABRET, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall

prophesy (1 Samuel 10:5).

Here the reference is obviously to a musical instrument.

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Numerous other references.

218.

TACHE(S)

And thou shalt make fifty TACHES of gold, and couple the

curtains together with the TACHES: and it shall be one

tabernacle (Exodus 26:6).

I see we’re still trying to get the tabernacle constructed. A tache is something used for tacking (the ch being put here for the k sound). A tache (tack) is used to hold. It is a catch, a loop or a button.

Numerous other references, all in Exodus.

219.

TENONS

This is yet another construction term found in the

instructions given Moses for the building of the tabernacle.

Ten often forms the prefix of words taken from the French language ( tenir) and the Latin ( teneo) and having to do with that which holds fast.

A tenet is a dogma or doctrine firmly held. A tendril is a clasp or clasper of a creeping vine. A tenure is a holding and tenor is continued sense or character.

A tenon is the end of a piece of wood cut into form, for insertion into a cavity in another piece called a mortise (a cavity cut in a piece of timber or material to receive the end of another piece made to fit it), in order to unite the two pieces and hold them immovable. The form of a tenon varies; it may be square, dovetailed, etc.

When used as a verb “to tenon” means to fit for insertion into a mortise, as the end of a piece of timber.

Two TENONS shall there be in one board, set in order one

against another: thus shalt thou make for all the boards of the

tabernacle (Exodus 26:17).

Numerous other references, all in Exodus.

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220.

TERAPHIM

These are not a race of creatures which dwell with seraphim and cherubim. In fact they are as far removed from the God-honoring host of heaven as they can be.

Teraphim are household deities or images. Pagans the world over use these in their religious practices. Though cultured Americans like to call them aids-to-worship, they are bowed down to, consulted, prayed before, and presented with offerings of incense. I have been in many homes where a candle was kept burning before the teraphim. I have seen them on the dash boards of automobiles and worn around the necks of educated adults.

In some literature the word has been translated “nourishers”

and it seems that the plural form was used as a collective singular for the personified combination of all nourishing powers, as the plural teraphim signified a god in whom all superior powers to be revered with reverential awe are combined.

The word teraphim signifies an object or objects of idolatry.

They were specifically tutelary (having the guardianship or charge of protecting a person or thing) household gods, by whom families expected, for worship bestowed, to be rewarded with domestic prosperity.

It is not without significance that teraphim is similar in meaning to the Penates, which were the ancient household gods of the Italians. To this day a “good” member of the Roman church will have one or two sacred-dolly-statues around the house.

And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an

ephod, and TERAPHIM, and consecrated one of his sons, who

became his priest (Judges 17:5).

See also Judges 18:14-20; Hosea 3:4.

221.

TERRESTRIAL

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There are also celestial bodies, and bodies

TERRESTRIAL: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the

glory of the TERRESTRIAL is another (1 Corinthians 15:40).

Terra is the Latin for earth and serves as the prefix for many words having to do with the land and soil.

There are three definitions of terrestrial, and all of them pertain to the verse at hand. The first is of, or pertaining to, the earth; existing on earth; earthly. So we are dwelling in bodies which are made for and enable existence on the earth.

The second is representing, or consisting of, the earth.

Genesis teaches that our bodies are made of the dust of the ground and shall return to the soil when we depart them.

The third is pertaining to the world, or to the present state.

So as long as we are in these bodies we will continually fight the lure of the world and the things that are in the world and will need to mortify our members if we are to be heavenly minded people. One day we shall leave this present state and finally be delivered from the body of this death.

Does not a dictionary open wide the pages of the Holy

Bible?!

222.

TETRARCH

At that time Herod the TETRARCH heard of the fame of

Jesus (Matthew 14:1).

Alright, so Herod was a tetrarch. What does that mean?

Tetra is a prefix taken from the Greek language meaning four.

Arch has slightly different meanings in many languages and they have been combined into one English prefix meaning chief, the first, or principal.

So a tetrarch would be the head or chief over a fourth part of a province. Herod served as such under the Roman emperor.

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223.

THYINE

The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones,

and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet,

and all THYINE wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all

manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron,

and marble, (Revelation 18:12).

This is a type of wood, as the verse indicates. It is a precious wood native of the Barbary region of Africa. It is a sweet smelling wood and believed by many to be a type of citrus, though this is very difficult to verify. It was often used as part of the sacrificial odors and ointments of various religious and cultic groups.

224.

TOPAZ

Here is the last of our precious stones. The word is believed to be from the Sanskrit tapus, meaning fire, in particular the fire of the sun; or tap meaning to heat. Others think the stone gets its name from Topazos, a small island in the Gulf of Arabia where the Romans obtained a stone which they called by this name.

In any case, topaz is a mineral occurring in rhombic

(oblique-angled equilateral parallelogram, or a quadrilateral figure whose sides are equal and the opposite sides parallel, but the angles unequal, two of the angles being obtuse and two acute) prisms, which is generally yellowish and pellucid (admitting the passage of light). Did you get that? It consists of silica, alumina, and fluoric acid and is highly valued as a gem.

Sometimes it is colorless, or of greenish, bluish or brownish shades. It can be massive and opaque in rare instances.

The TOPAZ of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it

be valued with pure gold (Job 28:19).

This is another stone alleged to have occult properties.

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Kozminsky taught that the topaz banished the fear of death and secured a painless passing from this life to the next (though he wasn’t certain about the where and what of the “next life”).

Edgar Cayce said, “Keep the topaz as a stone about thee always. It may bring strength to thee. (You) will find (it) oft needed in thy dealings with thy problems, and with thy fellow men” (reading #2281-1).

How obvious it should be by now that the one who once was covered by the precious stones (Ezekiel 28:13) continues to delude his followers by convincing them he has the powers which, in truth, belong only to Almighty God.

See also Exodus 28:17; 39:10; Ezekiel 28:13; Revelation 21:20.

225. TOW

And the strong shall be as TOW, and the maker of it as a

spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall

quench them (Isaiah 1:31).

This is the course or broken part of flax or hemp which has been separated from the finer part by the hatchel (an instrument formed with a long row of iron teeth set in a board, for cleansing flax or hemp; it resembles a huge comb) or swingle (wooden instrument about two feet long, with one thin edge, used for cleaning flax).

See also Judges 16:9 and Isaiah 43:17.

226.

TRAVAIL

Travail, meaning to labor with pain; to toil; to suffer the pains of childbirth, has a most interesting root. It comes from the vulgar Latin tripaliard, which means to torture on a rack.

What this says about delivering babies cannot be explained to any who have not done so, and needs not be explained to any who have.

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What this says about the time of Jacob’s trouble, for the rebirth of Israel at the close of the great tribulation is frequently referred to as the travail of a woman with child, must fill us with wonder. Torture as on a rack! will be the recompense for the crucifixion of their Messiah. Surely that will be a dread day for the Hebrew nation.

It is worth noting that tripaliard made is way into the old French as travailler, meaning to torment or trouble. Our word travel comes from same history. This explains much about life on the road in Mediaeval Europe (and parts of modern America).

Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee?

is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a

woman in TRAVAIL (Micah 4:9).

Travail, travailed, travailest, travaileth, travailing all have numerous references.

227.

TRIBULATION

While speaking of the coming tribulation, let us note the meaning of the word. It is that which occasions distress or vexating severe affliction.

The Roman tribulum was a sort of sledge with flint or metal teeth like those of a harrow. It was drawn across grain on a threshing floor to remove the husks. Tribulations are, of course, harrowing experiences, but none more so than the last half of Daniel’s 70th week.

When thou art in TRIBULATION, and all these things are

come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the

LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the

LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee,

neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers

which he sware unto them (Deuteronomy 4:30-31).

Numerous other references.

See vex, below.

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228.

TROW

Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that

were commanded him? I TROW not (Luke 17:9).

This is one of the very few words in our Bible that is not used today outside the realm of Biblical Christianity. It means to believe; to trust; to think or suppose.

I trow that ye shall not forget this meaning.

229.

UNCTION

The verse containing this word and a companion verse in the same chapter have been used to support so much unholy living and unscriptural service in God’s name that a close look at this definition is very much in order.

But ye have an UNCTION from the Holy One, and ye

know all things.

But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in

you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same

anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie,

and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him (1 John 2:20, 27).

The first of these verses is used by the slothful to justify their lack of study, by careless ministers to justify their lack of preparation, and by conceited babies to validate their claim to need no instruction.

The second of these verses is used by rebels who will not submit themselves to the preaching of the word of God and by those so carnal they cannot establish relationships with their brethren. They wave this verse about as though it proved they had Biblical sanction to absent themselves from full participation in a local church.

So just what is an unction? It is the act of anointing, smearing or rubbing with an unguent (a soft composition used as 152 /

152 READER’S GUIDE TO THE KING JAMES BIBLE

a topical remedy, as for sores, burns and the like) oil, or ointment, especially for medical purposes.

This means that the Holy Spirit first comes with gentle healing for our sin-sick souls. He softens the diseased and rotten flesh and renews healthy life therein.

An unction is also the quality in language, address, or the like, which excites emotion, especially strong devotion; religious fervor and tenderness.

Next the indwelling Holy Ghost begins to apply the word of God (language, address) in such a way as to bring about four great changes in the life.

First, he excites with emotion. The new birth does not result in dead or dry orthodoxy, nor ritualistic formalities, but a genuine, heartfelt expression of righteous feelings toward God and man.

Second, he produces strong devotion. The born again

experience does not leave one in and out, lukewarm or an occasional participant in divine worship and service. Rather, the result will be a devotedness and unwavering allegiance to the things of God.

Third, is an intense, glowing, animated zeal. The Christ-life is one which cannot be hid.

Fourth, there is a tenderness. The Holy Spirit will not make one a bitter, critical, fault-finding isolationist. He will make one like the Master; humble, burden-bearing, meek and lowly.

There is much boasting today in knowledge, but it is not the knowledge of the Spirit. Where there is an unction from the Holy One, the lessons above are being learned, and their fruits are being manifest in the life.

These are the things that no man can teach or needs to teach to the believer who is yielded to the Holy Ghost’s control.

230.

UNICORN

A unicorn is any animal with one horn.

THE DEFINITIONS / 153

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The depiction of this animal as a horse with a horn has caused the Biblical references to be scorned because no record exists of any such animal ever having existed. Yet, there are one horned species to be found on the land, the sea, and in the air.

In the 1700’s, Ruepell reported an animal of reddish color, equal in size, though not in appearance, to a small horse, living in Ethiopia. It was slender in shape like the gazelle and was furnished with a long, slender horn in the male; though not in the female. Craig also tells of this animal in his writings on natural history.

Of more certain existence is the rhinoceros. While the African rhinoceros has two horns (rhinoceros bicornis or rhinoceros Africanus) and is widely known, what is seldom seen is the Indian rhinoceros. It has only one horn. The zoological classification of this animal is rhinoceros Indicus or rhinoceros unicornus.

Clearly this is a unicorn and the power and strength of such an animal will fit many of the Biblical references.

The Java rhinoceros was long thought to be extinct, but in recent years specimens of this creature have been found in the wild. It too has but one horn.

In the air is the rhinoceros bird, which belongs to the genus buceros. This is a species of hornbill, dwelling in the East Indies or Indian islands. It has one curved horn on the forehead, joined to the mandible.

In the sea is the narwhal. This beautiful creature is white and appears to be constantly smiling. It is called the sea unicorn or unicorn fish because it has one great horn. When young it has two teeth or horns, but when old it has but one, which projects from the upper jaw and is spiral.

From all this it is clear to see that the unicorn is certainly not a creature of myth.

Let’s go back to the farm for a few minutes. Did you know that the horns of cattle do not grow out of their skull? They grow from buds which are located between the skin and the skull.

Many cattle ranchers will poll their young males. To do this they 154 /

154 READER’S GUIDE TO THE KING JAMES BIBLE

cut open the forehead and remove these buds. This de-horning of the animal is done so that it will be less likely to injure someone, or harm another animal.

In many parts of the world ranchers will choose a dominant male from their herds to be responsible for the majority of future offspring. In order to insure that this animal emerges triumphant over his male competitors the forehead will be opened, one bud removed and the other is moved to the center of the forehead.

The scalp is then sown back together.

Since kine fight for dominance through pushing with their heads, the unicorn will thus be adapted to rise to the top.

Of the eight references in scripture to unicorns, six of them seem to indicate that this type of bull is in view. It is connected with young calves that skip (Psalms 29:6) and with bulls and bullocks (Deuteronomy 33:17; Isaiah 34:7). It is noted for its strength (Numbers 23:22; 24:8). The Biblical unicorn abides in a crib, pulls in the furrow, and harrows in the valleys but only under the command of the Lord; he is too strong for man too handle (Job 39:9-10).

Remember, the Bible is always right, and its critics don’t do their homework.

See also Psalms 22:21; 92:10.

231.

UPBRAID

This does not have to do with plaiting the hair (see above).

To upbraid is to charge with something wrong or disgraceful, to reproach, to cast something in the teeth of.

Then began he to UPBRAID the cities wherein most of his

mighty works were done, because they repented not (Matthew 11:20).

According to the definition, these people should have been ashamed of their unbelief. Jesus looked them right in the eye and gave them to understand they were chargeable, accountable for their actions.

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To reproach, one of the meanings of upbraid, is to blame.

The use of this word in scripture rules out all thought that men and women are automatons, subject to the whims of eternal decrees. If the inhabitants of these cities failed to believe, they, not God, were to blame. Knowing the words of God, and the meanings of those words, will keep one from a good deal of theological error.

See Judges 8:15. Upbraideth, James 1:5. Upbraided, Mark 16:14.

232.

VENISON

Venison comes from the Latin venatio, “hunting,” and was formerly applied to the flesh of any animal killed in the hunt and used for food. Only gradually was it narrowed to refer to the meat of a deer. This may help to explain how Jacob’s goat stew served to deceive a man waiting for Esau’s venison.

This word is used eight times in scripture, all in Genesis 25-27.

233.

VERMILION

This is a substance consisting of sulphuret or sulphide of mercury, especially when in the form of a fine powder. It is of a bright, beautiful red color, and is much used as a pigment, and to color wafers, sealing-wax and the like.

It is sometimes found in a native form which has a red or brown color, and is then called cinnabar.

There is an insect called kermes from which is extracted a dye of the same color, which dye bears the same name. Kermes are found in various species of oaks around the Mediterranean Sea. The dried bodies of the females are round, about the size of a pea, and contain the coloring matter.

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The process of coloring with these insects was known by a term which would translate into English as “worm-dye,” but in the romance languages was vermiculus. The cloth so stained was called vermiculatia. Hence came the modern name vermilion, for a substance very different from the kermes by-product.

The scripture records the use of this coloring, though from which source we cannot be certain, for house painting and vile artwork.

That saith, I will build me a wide house and large

chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with

cedar, and painted with VERMILION (Jeremiah 22:14).

And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw

men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans

pourtrayed with VERMILION, (Ezekiel 23:14).

234.

VEX

I will also VEX the hearts of many people, when I shall

bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries

which thou hast not known (Ezekiel 32:9) The French vexer and the Spanish vexar mean to shake, or toss in carrying. In modern English we might say, “I’m all shook up.” (At least Elvis would when he stepped on the scales). This is the meaning of vex.

To disturb, to disquiet, to agitate is what vexation will do to a man.

It is important to note that tribulation (as noted above) is that which occasions vexation. This is interesting, for in order to be disturbed or disquieted, one must be at rest. In order to be agitated, one must be at peace. See how a proper understanding of the meaning of the words not only provides insight into but verifies correct interpretation of the Scriptures.

The Jews will be lulled into a false security through peace treaties signed with the man of sin. Then shall come great tribulation, i.e., great vexation, i.e. great disturbance. This is THE DEFINITIONS / 157

157

why the ruin of Sodom and Gomorrah is held forth as an example more frequently in the Bible than any other event. The people of those cities were dwelling in peace and safety when sudden destruction came upon them as travail upon a woman with child.

Dear reader, is all peace and safety with you. This is no guarantee that you are eternally secure. Only through faith in the finished cross-work of the Lord Jesus Christ can one enter into a rest which cannot be disturbed.

Vex, vexation, vexations, vexed: numerous references.

235. WAILING

To wail is to break forth in a loud cry of sorrow stemming from deep lamentation. The word comes from Iceland and the Gaelic tribes who used it to signify a howl.

Should some lost soul be reading these words, please do not die in your sins and enter a place where you will join millions of Christ rejecting souls who are wailing and gnashing their teeth

(Matthew 13: 42, 50) in the fires of hell. None can comprehend the horror of that awful cry!

Numerous references. Also wail (Ezekiel 32:18, Micah 1:8, Revelation 1:7) and wailed (Mark 5:38).

236.

WEN

Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a WEN, or scurvy,

or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make

an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD

(Leviticus 22:22).

A wen is a circumscribed (enclosed), indolent (causing little or no pain) tumor, without inflammation or change of color of the skin. Wen is sometimes applied to an encysted (enclosed in a bag, bladder, or vesicle) tumor, and to bronchocele, which is a 158 /

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tumor on the forepart of the neck. The common term for this condition is a goiter.

237.

WHIT

This is an Old English word meaning the smallest part or particle imaginable; a bit; a jot.

When Samuel tells Eli every whit, he is giving him the full details (1 Samuel 3:18). When Jesus made a man every whit

whole on the sabbath day (John 7:23), total healing was the result.

See also Deuteronomy 13:16, John 13:10, 2 Corinthians

11:5.

238.

WIMPLE

Let us take one last look inside the closet of Isaiah 3. In

that day the Lord will take away…The changeable suits of

apparel, and the mantles, and the WIMPLES, and the crisping

pins (Isaiah 3:18, 22).

Allow me to point out that the bride of Christ is beautifully adorned by the Lord Jesus (Psalm 45), and where modesty is not violated and extravagance is not pursued God grants more liberty in attire than many dogmatists.

On the other hand, the idol of fashion is one greatly

worshipped by the women of this Laodicean age.

If one spends more time preparing for Sunday morning

services with the hair, the face, and the clothes than with the Bible and the Savior then another god is on the throne. (The same goes for the male bird with his blow-dried plumage, neatly pressed suit, spit-shined shoes and dirty heart).

A wimple is a covering of silk, linen or other material laid in folds from the neck, chin and side of the face. It was formerly THE DEFINITIONS / 159

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worn by women as an outdoor covering and is still retained in the dress of nuns in conventional costume.

Any sort of veil or hood can be referred to as a wimple.

239.

WIT

Wit is always used with to, “to wit,” and means to know. It is used only in the infinitive and is employed, especially in legal language, to call attention to a particular thing, or to a more particular specification of what has preceded, and is equivalent to

“that is to say.”

Moreover, brethren, we do you to WIT of the grace of God

bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; (2 Corinthians 8:1).

Numerous other references.

240.

WITHS

And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven

green WITHS that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and

be as another man (Judges 16:7, see also verse 9).

A with is a flexible, slender twig or branch used as a band.

It can also be a number of twigs twisted together for the same purpose.

241.

WORM

The lowly worm’s name has a grand history. Worm derives from the Latin vermis, which first meant “dragon” or “serpent.”

Though, in time, it came to include the garden worm as well, those many Biblical passages using this word should be reconsidered. For example, the born-again believer will one day be made like Christ. What will be the end of those whose father is the devil (John 8:44, Mark 9:44-48)?

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Lest any doubt this line of derivation, Tyndale’s translation renders Acts 28:3-4 as follows: “There came a viper out of the heat, and leaped upon his hand. When the men of the country saw the WORM hang on his hand, they said, This man must needs be a murderer.”

242.

WOT

We have come to the end of our list, and I wot not how to take the news.

Here is one of the very few words in the Authorized Version that is no longer used outside the realm of Biblical Christianity.

It means to know or to be aware.

And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate,

when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went

I WOT not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake

them (Joshua 2:5).

Numerous other references. Wotteth, Genesis 39:8.

Document Outline

- A Reader’s Guideto theKing James Bible

- A Reader’s Guideto theKing James Bible

- By Definition

- GENERAL “VINEGAR” JOE STILLWELL

- The lexicographer

Table of Contents

A Reader’s Guideto theKing James Bible

By Definition

GENERAL “VINEGAR” JOE STILLWELL

The lexicographer