Origins (of Words)
Rise and Shine
'Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.'
Written by the Prophet Isaiah, 8th century BC
[This is the 3rd message of this series]
We may not be aware of it but so many of the words we use and our everyday sayings and expressions were taken from the bible. Whether we like it or not, or if we believe it or not, the lives we live are influenced directly if not indirectly by the old book.
Not In The Book
Of course there are things that we may commonly think or assume may have biblical origins but actually do not (such as the term "God helps those who help themselves" - no this is not from the bible).
Many cute and feel good sayings like this has been passed around for generations and more so recently online and on social media, but many are not from the bible.
We wouldn't know unless we have actually read the bible ourselves.
And no, there were no three kings mentioned in the Christmas narrative.
But nevertheless a lot of words and sayings do come and were taken from the bible.
Words
For example these words and many others were first used and are taken directly from the bible and into our dictionaries.
Scapegoat, behemoth, busybodies, golden calf, broken hearted, heavy heart, bear fruit, sour grapes, forbidden fruit, stumbling block, lukewarm, peace offering, eye to eye, Jezebel, Judas, Doubting Thomas, Nimrod, armageddon and apocalypse to name a few.
Expressions
And not just words, there are a lot of sayings and expressions that have become a big part of our everyday conversations.
It would be hard to imagine not having to use them. Many of us do not even realize that the expressions we use actually came from the bible.
12 Sayings
It will actually be too many to list here but among them are:
Rise and Shine (Sleepyhead)
-from Isaiah 60:1
Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
-from Genesis 3:19
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return. (We have touched on this in the preceding message).
Apple of the eye
-from Deuteronomy 32:10
In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye.
Going the extra mile
-from Matthew 5:41
If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. (Yes, literally an extra mile).
By the skin of your teeth
-from Job 19:20
I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.
Let us eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die
1 Corinthians 15:32
If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
At your wit's end
-from Psalm 107:27
They reeled and staggered like drunkards; they were at their wits’ end.
Can a leopard change its spots
-from Jeremiah 13:23a
Can an Ethiopian change his skin or a leopard its spots?
At the eleventh hour
'from Matthew 20:9
And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. (They were hired at the last hour).
Read the writing on the wall
-from Daniel 5 (where we can read the story about King Belshazzar getting scared because of the unexplained writing on the palace wall).
Land of milk and honey
-from Exodus 3:17
And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
Blind leading the blind
-from Matthew 15:14
Leave them; they are blind guides If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.
As I've said there are a lot more, so below is a list where we can read a few more of them.
Now, without the bible, we wouldn't have known about these words and expressions. And so many of our thoughts and feelings originate from Scriptures, many we follow and aren't even aware of.
20 More Sayings
A drop in the bucket (Isaiah 40:15)
A little birdie told me (Ecclesiastes 10:20)
Am I my brother's keeper (Genesis 4:9)
Another one bites the dust (Psalm 72:9)
An eye for an eye (Exodus 21:23)
Be a man (1 Kings 2:2)
Better to give than to receive (Acts 20:35)
Fall from grace (Galatians 5:4)
Flesh and blood (Matthew 16:17)
Labor of love (1 Thessalonians 1:3)
No rest for the wicked (Isaiah 57:21)
Nothing but skin and bones (Job 19:20)
Put words in my mouth (2 Samuel 14:3)
Put your house in order (2 Kings 20:1)
Signs of the times (Matthew 16:3)
The root of the matter (Job 19:28)
There is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9)
Weighed in the balance (Daniel 5:27)
Wolves in sheep's clothing (Matthew 7:15)
You reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7)
Origins (the Series)
Image Credit: mars.nasa.gov (wikimedia commons, public domain)
And no, there were no three kings mentioned in the Christmas narrative.
But nevertheless a lot of words and sayings do come and were taken from the bible.
Words
For example these words and many others were first used and are taken directly from the bible and into our dictionaries.
Scapegoat, behemoth, busybodies, golden calf, broken hearted, heavy heart, bear fruit, sour grapes, forbidden fruit, stumbling block, lukewarm, peace offering, eye to eye, Jezebel, Judas, Doubting Thomas, Nimrod, armageddon and apocalypse to name a few.
Expressions
And not just words, there are a lot of sayings and expressions that have become a big part of our everyday conversations.
It would be hard to imagine not having to use them. Many of us do not even realize that the expressions we use actually came from the bible.
12 Sayings
It will actually be too many to list here but among them are:
Rise and Shine (Sleepyhead)
-from Isaiah 60:1
Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
-from Genesis 3:19
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return. (We have touched on this in the preceding message).
Apple of the eye
-from Deuteronomy 32:10
In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye.
Going the extra mile
-from Matthew 5:41
If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. (Yes, literally an extra mile).
By the skin of your teeth
-from Job 19:20
I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.
Let us eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die
1 Corinthians 15:32
If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
At your wit's end
-from Psalm 107:27
They reeled and staggered like drunkards; they were at their wits’ end.
Can a leopard change its spots
-from Jeremiah 13:23a
Can an Ethiopian change his skin or a leopard its spots?
At the eleventh hour
'from Matthew 20:9
And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. (They were hired at the last hour).
Read the writing on the wall
-from Daniel 5 (where we can read the story about King Belshazzar getting scared because of the unexplained writing on the palace wall).
Land of milk and honey
-from Exodus 3:17
And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
Blind leading the blind
-from Matthew 15:14
Leave them; they are blind guides If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.
As I've said there are a lot more, so below is a list where we can read a few more of them.
Now, without the bible, we wouldn't have known about these words and expressions. And so many of our thoughts and feelings originate from Scriptures, many we follow and aren't even aware of.
20 More Sayings
A drop in the bucket (Isaiah 40:15)
A little birdie told me (Ecclesiastes 10:20)
Am I my brother's keeper (Genesis 4:9)
Another one bites the dust (Psalm 72:9)
An eye for an eye (Exodus 21:23)
Be a man (1 Kings 2:2)
Better to give than to receive (Acts 20:35)
Fall from grace (Galatians 5:4)
Flesh and blood (Matthew 16:17)
Labor of love (1 Thessalonians 1:3)
No rest for the wicked (Isaiah 57:21)
Nothing but skin and bones (Job 19:20)
Put words in my mouth (2 Samuel 14:3)
Put your house in order (2 Kings 20:1)
Signs of the times (Matthew 16:3)
The root of the matter (Job 19:28)
There is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9)
Weighed in the balance (Daniel 5:27)
Wolves in sheep's clothing (Matthew 7:15)
You reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7)
Origins (the Series)
Image Credit: mars.nasa.gov (wikimedia commons, public domain)
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