Hebrew Idioms

[Table of Contents]

An idiom is a saying or figure of speech which cannot be understood by the individual words that make it up. An idiom uses a series of words to illustrate a single object, person or concept. The Bible is a book of idioms; if we do not have some understanding of the idioms it puts into use, it will be meaningless to us. This document is a list of the different types of idioms used in the Bible; each section containing a short description and at least one example.

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Simile- a likening of one thing to another, usually containing the words "like" or "as."

Example: His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. Revelation 1:14 NIV

Example: He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent.. Psalm 104:2-3 NIV

Metaphor- very much like a simile. An implied comparison between two objects without using words such as "like" or "as."

Example- You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again. Matthew 5:13 NIV

Hyperbole- an idiom of overstatement. An exaggeration to make or reinforce a point.

Example: If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. Matthew 5:29 NIV

Hendiadys- the combination of two or three things to express the same meaning.

Example: May the God of peace sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 NIV

Irony- stating one thing, but meaning the exact opposite.

Example: Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble. Judges 10:14 NIV

Example: Doubtless you are the people, and wisdom will die with you. Job 12:1-2 NIV

Litotes- a phrase that lessens one thing in order to exalt another.

Example: Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:10 NIV

Euphemism- substituting a harsh or offensive term with a less offensive one.

Example: After he had said this, he went on to tell him, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."(Jesus was speaking of the death of Lazarus) John 11:11 NIV

Antithesis- a direct contrast of one set of figures to another.

Example: For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. Galatians 5:17 NIV

Ellipsis- a passage that is grammatically incomplete which requires the reader to complete it.

Example: Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 1 Corinthians 12:30 NIV

Metonymy- the substitution of a noun for another closely associated noun. We understand the meaning of the this substituted noun by the association it produces in the readers mind.

Example: He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever.(Here the word "throne" would mean kingdom)1 Chronicles 17:12 NIV

Example: I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.(Here "key" would mean authority) Isaiah 22:22 NIV

Synecdoche- a figure of speech in which the part represents the whole or the whole represents the part.

Example: Let me know that it is your hand, that you, O Lord, have done it. Psalm 109:27 NIV

Eponymy- a type of Synecdoche, in which an individual represents the whole nation.

Example: For you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah. Jeremiah 2:28 NIV

Merismus- a combination of parts of the whole to express totality.

Example: At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat upon the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. Exodus 12:29 NIV

Personification- the representation of a concept or object as if it were a person.

Example: Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech. Proverbs 1:20-21 NIV

Apostrophe- a personification in which the writer addresses the object or concept that he has personified.

Example: "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 1 Corinthians 15:55 NIV.

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