“And the Lord Jehovah will help me. On account of this I was not ashamed”. Isaiah 50:7 Help – In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word azar is used principally of military assistance. There are numerous passages where the word is used in the context of a real military battle, for example, when Egypt and…
“predestinating us to adoption through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will”. Eph 1:5 Adoption – Not used often in the New Testament, this word is as old as the second century BC. It is huiothesia. In Greek times, adoption was used to bring a son into the family for…
“even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, for us to be holy and without blemish before Him in love,” Ephesians 1:4 Without blemish – In Greek, negative word constructions are sometimes made up of two combined parts. It is something like our English “un-” as in “unfit” or “ungrateful”. …
“Jehovah your God is mighty in your midst; He will save. He will rejoice over you with joy; He is silent in His love”. Zephaniah 3:17 Rejoice – This verse at the end of one of the more obscure Old Testament prophetic books gives us some wonderful and unusual pictures about God’s love for us. …
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow-citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,” Ephesians 2:19 Fellow-citizens – This word is sumpolitai. You can see the combination of sum and polites – literally “together with a citizen”. It is also translated “fellow-workers”. That is important because it does…
“He has brought me to his banquet hall, and his banner over me is love”. Song of Solomon 2:4 Banner – In Hebrew – degel. Here is a word that is used in only two places in the Bible; the book of Numbers and this verse in Song of Solomon. The references in the book…
“O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me”. Psalms 139:1 Known – The root (yada) of this word occurs nearly 1000 times. It signifies the many contexts of gaining information through the senses. It is used of God’s understanding of men as well as our understanding of God. It describes the context of being…
“But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day”. Proverbs 4:18 Righteous – This Hebrew word (sedeq), occurring more than 250 times in the Old Testament, carries the connotation of moral conformity to norm or standard. It is used to describe the judgments…
“for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light”. Ephesians 5:8 Darkness – In Greek – skotos. The ancient world used the imagery of dark and light not only to describe natural events but also to signify opposite forces of power and mystery. There are many…
“Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you”. Ezekiel 16:60 Covenant – This word (berit) has a very special meaning in the Bible. We often think of covenant in terms of a promise or treaty. In ordinary usage this implies…
