What are some idioms in the Bible?

Answer

An idiom is an expression that conveys a meaning different from the literal interpretation of the words. For instance, you can be “busy” even when your hands are empty. When an idea is “beyond comprehension,” you don’t need to look up at the ceiling to find it. If someone has “revealed a secret,” there’s no need to contact animal control. These idioms are commonly understood by proficient English speakers to signify “busy,” “beyond comprehension,” and “revealed a secret,” respectively.

All languages incorporate idioms, including those in which the Bible was originally written. The use of idiomatic expressions is a natural aspect of communication, and since the Bible was penned in ordinary human language, it naturally includes idioms.

The English Bible has significantly influenced the evolution of the English language. The wording, vocabulary, and rhythms of the King James Version have had a lasting impact on our culture. Interestingly, some idioms from the Bible have become part of the English language. Examples of idioms originating from the Bible include the following:

Let me catch my breath. Meaning: “give me some time.” When Job questions the reasons for his suffering, he remarks about God, “He would not let me catch my breath but would overwhelm me with misery” «He will not suffer me to take my breath, But filleth me with bitterness. », (Job 9:18).

A drop in the bucket. Meaning: “a very small, insignificant amount.” In exalting God as sovereign, Isaiah writes, “Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust” «Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. », (Isaiah 40:1).

5″>(Isaiah 40:15).

The apple of one’s eye. Meaning: “something very dear.” The psalmist asks for God’s protection against his enemies, saying, “Keep me as the apple of the eye” «Keep me as the apple of the eye, Hide me under the shadow of thy wings, », (Psalm 17:8).

Other English idioms that are sourced from the Bible include Adam’s apple «And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. », (Genesis 3:6), cast the first stone «So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. », (John 8:7), by the skin of one’s teeth «My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, And I am escaped with the skin of my teeth. », (Job 19:20), taking someone under the wing (Psalm 17:8;Psalm 61:4;Psalm 91:4), the handwriting on the wall (Daniel 5:5-6), set in stone «And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.», (Exodus 31:18), Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-35), extending an olive branch «and the dove came in to him in the evening; and,Lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.” , (Genesis 8:11), and to miss the mark (from the meaning of the Greek word hamartia in Luke 1:77; John 1:29; 1 John 3:4).

The Bible also contains Hebrew and Greek idioms that are translated into English. Idioms are notoriously difficult to translate because they are specific to the language of origin and may cause confusion when translated literally. Here are some examples of idiomatic phrases in the Bible:

Know. A literal translation of yada (Hebrew) and ginóskó (Greek) gives us the sense of “knowing.” Both words are used as an idiom for “sexual intercourse.” Adam “knew” his wife “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.” , (Genesis 4:1, ESV). Joseph did not “know” Mary until after Jesus was born “and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.”, (Matthew 1:25, ESV).

Seed. Someone’s “seed” in the Bible can be an idiomatic reference to his “children” or “descendants” “that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;” , (Genesis 22:17, KJV).

The manner of women. The Hebrew idiom for a woman’s period can be translated literally as “the manner of women” “And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that ICannot rise up before you; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the images.” (Genesis 31:35, NKJV).

Flowing with milk and honey. God used this idiom to communicate to the Israelites that the Promised Land was “fertile” “and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.” (Exodus 3:8).

Melting heart. If a person’s heart “melts,” then he “loses courage,” and that’s how the idiom is used in Deuteronomy 20:8 (BSB).

One who urinates on a wall. In 1 Samuel 25:22 (WEB), this idiom makes reference to a “male.”

Cover one’s feet. It is thought that the Hebrew expression translated as “covered his feet” in Judges 3:24 and 1 Samuel 24:3 (NASB) was a euphemistic idiom for “relieving himself.”

From Dan to Beersheba. Dan was in the extreme northern part of Israel, and Beersheba was in the extreme south, so the idiom from Dan to Beersheba meant “all of Israel” (see 2 Samuel 3:10;1 Kings 4:25).

Great before God. A literal translation of Jonah 3:3 says that Nineveh was “a great city before God” (YLT). Most translations simply say something akin to “Nineveh was an extremely large city” (HCSB), which is what the idiom great before God means in this context.

Gird up your loins. If someone tells you to “gird up your loins,” you are to “get yourself ready” (Jeremiah 1:17;Job 40:7;NASB).

Having in the belly. Matthew 1:18 containsAn idiom describing Mary as en gastri exousa, literally, “having in the belly” or “possessing in the womb.” This was Matthew’s way of saying that Mary was pregnant.

Answered and said. A common idiom in Greek, answered and said or opened his mouth and said, was simply a way of saying that someone began speaking. In a language written without punctuation marks (including quotation marks), such an idiom was useful for alerting readers of the start of a direct quote see Matthew 4:4 and Acts 10:34, NKJV.

What you hear in the ear. This idiom is used by Jesus to refer to a “whisper” «What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. », (Matthew 10:27, BLB).

Eat their own bread. Paul rebukes idle people in the church, telling them to “eat their own bread,” that is, to work for a living and earn their own money «Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. », (2 Thessalonians 3:12, NKJV).

Abraham’s bosom. Jesus spoke of a place called kolpos Abraam in Luke 16:22. This idiom is translated as “Abraham’s bosom” (NASB) or “Abraham’s side” (NIV). The NLT renders it as being “beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet.”

As you read through the Bible, you should “keep your eyes peeled” for idioms. Some of them you may not be able to “make heads or tails of” at first, but a good commentary or study Bible can “lend a hand.” With a little research and background information, understanding most passages containing idioms in the Bible can become “easy as pie.”