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Bible Articles and Lessons: D

Difficult Bible words

Words have their histories, like men. Like them they live and die. A word that meant one thing may mean another hundreds of years afterwards, and may at last cease to be used at all. In our English translation (the Authorized Version of King James in the year 1611) there are many words found that are now, after the lapse of almost 400 years, obsolete (that is, gone out of use) or obsolescent (that is, going out of use). Others have somewhat changed their meanings. The following are some hard, and old-fashioned, words to be found in the King James Version, with their present-day meaning:

Abomination	An object that fills us with disgust, particularly an idol.
Ambassage	The same word is translated "message" in Luke 19:14.
Asswaged	Sank down, subsided.
Astonied	Astonished.
Audience	The Hebrew word means the ear. Abraham spoke in the ear of the children of Heth; we say "in the hearing of". To give audience means to listen.
Barbarian	An alien or foreigner.
Barbarous	Foreign.
Baser	"Certain lewd fellows of the baser sort"; that is, wicked men who hung about the market place; vile men of the rabble.
Bewrayeth	Betrays.
Carriage	That which is carried, baggage. We now say luggage.
Charger	Dish in the Old Testament (Num 7), where silver chargers are spoken of. But in the New Testament (Mat 14) the Greek word "pinax" means a wooden drinking cup.
To be at charges	To discharge the cost of, to bear the expense of.
Convert	To turn again.
Fain	Gladly.
Garner	Granary (barn).
Jot, Yod	The smallest Hebrew letter. "Iota" is the Greek. Both correspond to the English letter "I" but it is often transliterated "J" in our Bible. The names Jerusalem, Jesus, Isaac, Isaiah, Judah, Israel, John, James, Jacob, etc., all begin with this letter.
Knop	An old way of writing "knob". In connection with the tabernacle, the knops were carved imitations of the buds of flowers.
Latchet	The thong by which the sandal was attached to the foot.
Let	In a few passages only, 'let' means 'hindered' (Exo 5:4; Isa 43:13; Rom 1:13; 2 Thes. 2:7).
Liketh	Pleases.
Lively	Living.
Maul	A heavy hammer.
Meat	Food of any kind. In the RV the words "meal offering" have been substituted for meat offering. This expresses the sense better.
Mete	To measure.
Meteyard	The English means to measure by the yard, or a yard measure. The Hebrew (Lev19:35) is best translated by the word "measure" only.
Minish	Diminish.
Minister	A servant.
Mite	A very small coin.
Mote	A minute particle of dust; a speck (Mat 7:3).
Neesing	Sneezing.
Nether	Lower.
Nethermost	Lowest.
Occupy	To do business; to trade.
Occupier	Trader.
Offence	In many places, a stumbling block, "skandalon", the original of our word "scandal".
Ouches	Sockets.
Overlived	Outlived.
Peradventure	Perhaps; it may be.
Pottage	That which is prepared in a pot.
Presently	In the present moment; now.
Printed	Engraved; "inscribed" (RV).
Proper	Goodly, comely.
Proselyte	"One who has come to", therefore a convert to Judaism.
Provoked	Stirred up, stimulated.
Quick	Living.
Quicken	To make alive.
Quit	Behave, or, as we now say, acquit.
Ranges	Ranks in 2Ki 11:8.
Ravin	Plunder.
Reins	The kidneys, regarded as the seat of joy, pain, etc.
Reprobate	Refuse.
Ringstraked	Streaked with rings.
Riotous	Gluttonous.
Scall	An eruption on the head or face.
Scrabbled	Scrawled, or scratched.
Scrip	A small bag or wallet.
Seethe	To boil.
Sherd	A sherd, potsherd, a broken piece of pottery.
Silverlings	Pieces of silver.
Sith	Since.
Sod, Sodden	Boil, Boiled.
Sottish	Foolish.
Staggered	"Wavered" (RV)
Strawed	Strewed, scattered.
Tables	Writing tablets covered with wax.
Tabret	A kind of small tambourine.
Tell	To number or count.
Temperance	Self-control.
Tempt	To test, try, put to the proof.
Tetrarch	Ruler over a fourth part.
Thought	"Anxiety" in Matthew 6:25.
Tired	Adorned with a tire or head dress; attired.
Tittle	The minute point added to one Hebrew letter to distinguish it from another.
Tormentors	Torturers.
Trow	To think, imagine.
Twain	An old form from the Anglo-Saxon "twegen" -- two; hence the Scotch "twa", and the English "twainty" or twenty.
Unperfect	Imperfect.
Untoward	Not toward; ie, inclined in the opposite direction.
Utter	Sometimes means outer.
Vagabond	A wanderer.
Vile	Worthless.
Ware	Aware.
Whit	A bit, atom; every whit, wholly; not a whit, not at all.
Wilily	Craftily.
Wise	Way. On this wise, in this way.
Wist	Knew.
Wit	To wit, to know.
With	Young twig of willow.
Wot	Knew.
Yokefellow	Fellow-laborer.