3. Figures of Speech
Once we have looked at what a text says literally, if that does not give us a clear and understandable meaning, we can move on, if necessary, to what it might mean figuratively.
All languages, including those used in writing the Bible, utilize figures of speech. They are often used in Scripture for emphasis or simply because they are a common way of using language in a nonliteral yet clear manner. An example would be Jesus' words that John the Baptist "came neither eating nor drinking" (Matthew 11:18). Obviously, John had to eat and drink to stay alive, but Jesus was speaking figuratively, using an expression outside its normal literal meaning – in this case to indicate that John declined invitations to eat and drink in banquets and other social settings. Usually such figurative use of language is easy to spot, but on occasion we must think about it – just as the disciples sometimes thought that Jesus was speaking literally when he was not (Matthew 19:25; etc.).
Many times it is left to us as readers of the Scriptures to see that a figure of speech is being used, and we need to be able to recognize them when we do encounter them. The following ten kinds of figurative language, each with its technical name and an example from the Old Testament and New Testament, are the most common kinds of figures of speech that it is helpful to know. Ten Types of Figurative Language Found in the Bible
1. Contrast (Antithesis): A direct contrast in which two things are set in opposition to each other.
OT: "We look for light, but all is darkness" (Isaiah. 59:9). NT: "God is light, in him there is no darkness" (1 John 1:5). 2. Substitution (Euphemism): The substitution of a more polite or gentle word for a potentially inappropriate one.
OT: "Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain" (Genesis 4:1 ESV). NT: "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up" (John 11:11). 3. Combination (Hendiadys): The combination of two or three words to express the same meaning.
OT: "in darkness and the deepest gloom" (Psalm 107:10 NLT). NT: "to the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:11). 4. Exaggeration (Hyperbole): An exaggeration for effect intended to make or reinforce a point.
OT: "The cities are great, and walled up to heaven" (Deuteronomy 1:28 KJ2K). NT: "You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel" (Matthew 23:24). 5. Sarcasm (Irony): Stating one thing while actually meaning the opposite.
OT: "Doubtless you are the only people who matter, and wisdom will die with you!" (Job 12:2). NT: "You have begun to reign as kings without us" (1 Corinthians 4:8 CSB). 6. Analogy (Metaphor): One thing described in terms of another thing.
OT: "The Lord is my shepherd" (Psalms 23:1). NT: "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35). 7. Substitution (Metynomy): The substitution of one thing for another.
OT: " My shield is God Most High" (Psalm 7:10). NT: "you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" (Ephesians 2:11).
8. Embodiment (Personification): The representation of a group, object, or concept as if it were a person or living thing.
OT: "Wisdom calls aloud in the street" (Proverbs 1:21 CSB). NT: "the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth" (Romans 8:22). 9. Comparison (Simile): A comparison made by using the words "like" or "as."
OT: "The mountains leaped like rams" (Psalm 114:4). NT: "You are like whitewashed tombs" (Matthew 23:27). 10. Part for the Whole (Synecdoche): a figure of speech in which a part represents the whole or vice versa.
OT: "one who has clean hands and a pure heart" (Psalm 24:4). NT: "give us this day our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11 ESV). It is vital to effective understanding of the Bible that we learn to recognize figures of speech like these, and that we do not read them literally. We might not interpret a parable or symbolic story literally, but we can easily make the mistake of reading smaller passages and expressions as if they were to be understood literally when, in fact, they might not be literally intended at all.
If we learn to recognize figures of speech, we will not be confused, for example, by scriptures such as Psalm 1:1 "Blessed is he who does not stand in the way of sinners" (which does not mean to get out of the way of those trying to sin!). Or, more importantly, "If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out" (Matthew 5:29 CSB), and "Everything is possible for one who believes" (Mark 9:23), which are both examples of exaggeration for effect. One area where language is often used figuratively in the Bible, in many of the different forms we have looked at in this chapter, is that of idioms – expressions that have a different overall meaning from those of the individual words that compose them. In the following case study, we will see how important recognizing idioms can sometimes be for understanding of what we read in the Bible.
Case Study: "The Length of Two Noses" and Other Idioms
We take idioms for granted in our own language. When someone says, "It's raining cats and dogs," we don't expect to see falling animals – we understand that words used in idioms don't have their usual individual meanings and that the expression has taken on a new significance altogether. So we understand the idiom to "see the light" as meaning simply to "understand," or the expression to be "in hot water" to mean "in trouble."
This use of idioms is common in many languages, and the Old Testament is particularly rich in this regard. A great many Hebrew idioms have to do with body parts – especially the face, hands and feet – and these are often "guessable" in context even if they sound strange to our ears – as when we read "his face fell" (as in Genesis 4:5 ESV), and we sense the meaning is that the individual was sad. Similarly, in the Old Testament to have "clean hands" (as in Psalm 24:4) is to act purely, and to have "closed hands" (for example Deuteronomy 15:7 in many versions) is to act selfishly.
These examples may make sense to us, but at other times it is not quite so easy to see the meaning of underlying Hebrew expressions. The Hebrew idiom "his nose burned" (as in Genesis 30:2) means he was furious, and the expression "the length of two noses" means to be "patient" (as in Exodus 34:6 and elsewhere). Fortunately, translators usually make such expressions understandable for us, and the more modern the translation, the more idioms tend to be translated with modern expressions rather than literally.
An example is found in the Hebrew expression "their ears are uncircumcised," which is translated literally in the KJV and ESV (as in Jeremiah 6:10), but the NIV and other versions translate the expression's meaning as "their ears are closed."
This kind of meaning-for-meaning translation is often particularly important because idioms can confuse us even though we may think we understand them. We may guess that in Hebrew the idiom "hearts and kidneys" (KJV "hearts and reins") – as in Psalm 7:9 – means what we would call our "thoughts and emotions;" but even knowing that "hearts" means "thoughts," we may miss the fact that the Hebrew expression "heart lifted up" does not always mean to be happy (as in 2 Chronicles 17:6), but can also mean to be prideful (as in Deuteronomy 8:11-14).
Again, many modern translations help us make sense of idioms such as the ones we have looked at, but they will also sometimes leave idioms untranslated. This is particularly true in the New Testament – and especially in the Gospel of Matthew which was likely originally written in Hebrew. We see this throughout Matthew when he speaks of the "kingdom of heaven," as opposed to the "kingdom of God," as we find in the other Gospels. In Hebrew, "heaven" was used idiomatically for "God," so a true meaning-tomeaning translation would render "kingdom of heaven" as "kingdom of God" in Matthew, also.
Consider another example from Matthew. In Matthew 19:24 we read the famous words of Jesus: "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." Most English translations from the King James Version to the New International Version translate this verse in this way, but for centuries commentators have disagreed on the origin for the phrase "a camel to go through the eye of a needle." Some have speculated that the expression is based on a small "needle gate" next to a larger gate in Jerusalem – the smaller gate being left open at night so that a camel, kneeling down and without its rider, could just pass through.
Attractive as this explanation might sound, there is no proof of it and no historical evidence of any such gate. But the expression is based on a known idiom. The Hebrew word gemala translated "camel" does often mean camel, but idiomatically it can also mean a thick rope, and this is more likely the original meaning of Jesus' words – that it is easier to thread a small needle with a thick rope (as opposed to a thin thread) than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.
At least one modern translation does translate the idiom in this way, and the lesson for us is simple. No matter how much we may be attached to an older translation of the Bible, such as the King James Version, we owe it to our understanding of the Scriptures to at least occasionally read a newer translation, and certainly to check newer translations when we do not understand any portion of the Bible. No version is perfect, but good modern translations are more likely to translate Hebrew idioms with accurate meanings rather than with word for word translations that are simply not understandable to today's reader. A good modern translation will help render idioms understandably – rather than with expressions that may require "the length of two noses" to understand.