Reasons to Write in Figurative Language
- To make interesting comparisons
- Explain something that is abstract
- Add dramatic effect
Used more frequently in stories, poems and songs. Figures of speech can make things more interesting, impactful, understandable, relatable or entertaining.
In the Bible
In the same way, figures of speech were used for emphasis in the Bible. Underlining was not an acceptable means of emphasis by the scribes. And they couldn’t use a different font. There was no such thing as capital letters. They couldn’t write in all capitals. So, they had to use figures of speech.
Types of Figures of Speech
Simile
Usually uses the word “like or “as” to compare two things.
Metaphor
Direct comparison between two things. It usually states that one thing “IS” actually another. Someone might say of another “You are an animal” or “You are a filthy animal”. Of course, it’s not literal.
Metaphors are used to express:
- a shared quality or character
- representation (there may not be the least physical resemblance)
- two or more objects related in use, effect, or association
Example: when you look at a map and point and say, “This is America” you are not saying that the paper is America. You are saying that it represents America in very limited aspects. It doesn’t mean that every attribute of an object relates to the other.
Professor Macbeth put it well, “We trample on the laws of nature, and we trample on the laws of language when we force the verb ‘is’ to mean what is never does mean.”. Don’t be deceived when you see the word “is” is may not mean what you think it means.
Personification
Human characteristics given to objects or animals
Commonly used in poetry. Used to make a certain human characteristics more relatable.
Idiom
Words, phrases, or expressions that should not be taken literally.
- “it’s raining cats and dogs”
- cat is out of the bag
- spill the beans
- pulling my leg
Hyperbole
Uses exaggeration for emphasis and/or humor.
Mustard seed is the smallest? No. Grows to be the biggest? No. It’s a hyperbole.
“I’ve asked you a millions times to do it. Why are you so lazy?”
Euphemism
a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh, unpleasant or embarrassing.
How to Identify a Figure of Speech in the Bible
If a concept is not testable we must immediately file it under “IDK”. Don’t assume you know what it means if it’s not verifiable or falsifiable.
If a concept is not feasible, possible, plausible, compatible with that which can be proven by measurement, mathematical calculations, reasoning to establish general rules or conclusions drawn from facts or examples, critical analysis, critical exposure to scrutiny, peer review and assessment, archeological evidence, historical evidence, or any other body of hard evidence, then it must be rendered either figurative, or fiction, or an error such as a scribal error, or a deliberate change of the text, or simply the author was wrong. And it’s ok if the author was wrong.
If we have evidence to believe something beyond a reasonable doubt (using the aforementioned methods of analysis) that is contrary to an apparent concept put forth in scripture – we can be safe to say that it is not to be taken as literal truth, but either as a figure of speech, or as an error.
Figures of Speech in the Bible
The Nicodemus Fallacy
[Jhn 3:1-6 NKJV] 1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus told Nicodemus that a man must be born again. Nicodemus made the mistake of taking it literally. Jesus corrected him. It’s a figure of speech. Not to be taken literally! Do not partake in the Nicodemus Fallacy!
Serious Business
To assume that a figure of speech is literal can lead to great error, and evil. Consider for example:
[Jhn 2:19 NKJV] 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
Later on, “witnesses” who took it literally came forward to testify against Jesus, accusing him of saying that he was speaking literal of the literal temple.
Matthew 26:26 – “This is My body”
“This is my blood” The cup? or the contents of it?
Against all good reasoning, Rome insists that this is literal – not a metaphor. That the “host” the bread is literally Christ’s body.
E. W. Bullinger puts it very well in his book “Figures of Speech used in the Bible” pg 738, 739
Examples of Figures of Speech in the Bible
Should these all be taken literally?
2Sa 22:2 KJV – And he said, The LORD [is] my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
Psa 18:2 KJV – The LORD [is] my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, [and] my high tower.
2Sa 22:31 KJV – [As for] God, his way [is] perfect; the word of the LORD [is] tried: he [is] a buckler to all them that trust in him.
Psa 23:1 KJV – [[A Psalm of David.]] The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want.
Jhn 10:9, 14, 27 KJV – I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. I am the good shepherd, and know my [sheep], and am known of mine. … My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me
Psa 84:11 KJV – For the LORD God [is] a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good [thing] will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
Is the Lord really a SUN? No! It just means that He is a Light, and source of warmth and life
Likewise, if the Lord literally a shield? No! It means that he is my defence.
Psa 84:11 KJV – For the LORD God [is] a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good [thing] will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
Jhn 6:41 KJV – The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
Jhn 8:12 KJV – Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
[Mat 7:6 NKJV] 6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
[Mar 1:17 NKJV] 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
[Act 20:29 NKJV] 29 “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
Jhn 15:5 KJV – I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
1Sa 2:10 NKJV – The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken in pieces; From heaven He will thunder against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to His king, And exalt the horn of His anointed.”
[Mat 13:38 NKJV] 38 “The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked [one].
1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now you are the body of Christ…”
2Sa 22:3 NKJV – The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence.
2Sa 22:3 NKJV – The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence.
Psa 75:5 NKJV – Do not lift up your horn on high; Do [not] speak with a stiff neck.’ “
Psa 92:10 NKJV – But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil.
Mat 5:13 KJV – Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Pro 13:14 KJV – The law of the wise [is] a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
Isa 64:8 KJV – But now, O LORD, thou [art] our father; we [are] the clay, and thou our potter; and we all [are] the work of thy hand.
Rev 19:7 KJV – Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Gen 49:9 KJV – Judah [is] a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
Acts 17:6 “These that have turned the world upside down” Literally?
Matthew 11:18 “For John came neither eating nor drinking” Is it possible that a human can live without eating and drinking?
Luke 9:52 “and [Jesus] and sent messengers before His face” Literally?
Many times in the New Testament we see the phrase “in Christ”. Does this mean literally in Christ? Are we supposed to be shrunk down to bacteria-sized particles and go in the body of Christ? (Like the Magic School Bus)?
[Isa 40:6 NKJV] 6 The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh [is] grass, And all its loveliness [is] like the flower of the field.
[Job 38:29 NKJV] 29 From whose womb comes the ice? And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?
[Job 38:22 NKJV] 22 “Have you entered the treasury of snow, Or have you seen the treasury of hail,
Into Your Hand
In the NKJV there are 39 times this expression is used. Is it literal? Here are a few examples:
[Gen 14:20 NKJV] 20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.
[Exo 23:31 NKJV] 31 “And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.
[Num 21:34 NKJV] 34 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.”
[Deu 2:24 NKJV] 24 ” ‘Rise, take your journey, and cross over the River Arnon. Look, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to possess [it], and engage him in battle.
Does it literally mean that God literally shrinks all these people and puts them into your hand?
Pillars
[Sng 5:15 NKJV] 15 His legs [are] pillars of marble Set on bases of fine gold. His countenance [is] like Lebanon, Excellent as the cedars.
[Gal 2:9 KJV] 9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we [should go] unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.
Not be Moved
[Psa 66:8-9 KJV] 8 O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard: 9 Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved.
[Psa 112:5-6 KJV] 5 A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion. 6 Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.
[Psa 10:6 KJV] 6 He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for [I shall] never [be] in adversity.
[Psa 16:8 KJV] 8 I have set the LORD always before me: because [he is] at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
[Psa 21:7 KJV] 7 For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.
[Psa 62:2, 6 KJV] 2 He only [is] my rock and my salvation; [he is] my defence; I shall not be greatly moved. … 6 He only [is] my rock and my salvation: [he is] my defence; I shall not be moved.
[Pro 12:3 KJV] 3 A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.
[Act 2:25 KJV] 25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
Untranslatable
Matt 16:22 (see “Figures of Speech Used in the Bible” by E.W. Bullinger, page 6.
Many words added by Translators
In certain Bibles, you will notice that some words are in italics. That means that those words are not in the original manuscripts, but they were added by the translators. In these quotes, every words within the square brackets are added by the translators and not in the original text.
[Mal 3:10 NKJV] 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you [such] blessing That [there will] not [be room] enough [to receive it].
[2Sa 6:6 NKJV] 6 And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out [his hand] to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.
Incorrectly added: [2Co 5:20 NKJV] 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore [you] on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.
The Translators Didn’t Translate Literally!
Acts 9:34 “… Arise, and make your bed…” in the Greek it is literally, “Arise, and spread for yourself.”