Word Studies¶
Question¶
What is the evidence classification system, what positions are being compared, and what analytical tools does this series use? Specifically, what is the BIBLICAL BASIS for the E/N/I evidence classification framework, the Scripture-interprets-Scripture principle, and the methodology of comparing interpretive positions (HIST/PRET/FUT/CRIT) against explicit textual data?
G4591 - semaino (signify)¶
Original Word: σημαίνω (semaino) Transliteration: semaino Part of Speech: Verb Definition: From sema (a mark; of uncertain derivation); to indicate, signify -- to give a sign, to make known by signs or symbols BLB Count: 6
Translations: - "and signified" (2x, 66.7%) - "to signify" (1x, 33.3%)
Key Verses: - REV 1:1 -- "and he sent and signified [esemainen] it by his angel unto his servant John" -- The verb is Aorist Active Indicative 3rd Singular. This is the programmatic statement for how Revelation communicates: through signs/symbols. The word implies symbolic communication rather than literal description. - JHN 12:33 -- "This he said, signifying [semainon] what death he should die" -- Present Active Participle (modal use: "by signifying"). Jesus uses symbolic/indirect speech to indicate the manner of his death. - JHN 18:32 -- signifying what death he should die - JHN 21:19 -- signifying by what death he should glorify God - ACT 11:28 -- Agabus signified by the Spirit a coming famine - ACT 25:27 -- to signify the crimes laid against a prisoner
Significance: The REV 1:1 usage establishes that Revelation's content is "signified" -- communicated through signs and symbols. This has direct methodological implications: if the text itself declares its mode of communication is symbolic, then interpretive frameworks must account for this. The word creates a lexical link between John's Gospel usage (signifying the manner of Christ's death) and the Apocalypse's symbolic mode.
G1955 - epilusis (interpretation)¶
Original Word: ἐπίλυσις (epilusis) Transliteration: epilusis Part of Speech: Feminine noun Definition: From epiluo; explanation, i.e. application -- interpretation, unloosing, solution BLB Count: 1 (HAPAX in NT)
Translations: - "interpretation" (1x, 100%)
Key Verses: - 2PE 1:20 -- "no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation [epilyseos]" -- Genitive Singular Feminine. The sole NT occurrence.
LXX Connections: - GEN 40:8 -- The LXX uses the related verb epiluo in the Joseph dream-interpretation narrative. This creates a semantic bridge: the word Peter uses for prophetic interpretation has its linguistic roots in the dream-interpretation vocabulary of Genesis.
Significance: The hapax status forces the interpreter to look at the LXX background for semantic range. The GEN 40:8 connection ties Peter's statement about prophetic interpretation directly to the pattern where "interpretations belong to God" (GEN 40:8b). This supports the principle that Scripture's meaning is not privately generated but divinely given -- a foundation for the SIS principle.
G350 - anakrino (examine, scrutinize)¶
Original Word: ἀνακρίνω (anakrino) Transliteration: anakrino Part of Speech: Verb Definition: From ana + krino; properly, to scrutinize, i.e. (by implication) investigate, interrogate, determine, judge BLB Count: 16
Translations: - "judgeth" (2x) -- 1CO 2:15; 4:4 - "asking" (2x) - "question" (2x) - "examined" (various, 5x) - "discerned" (1x) - "is judged" (1x) - "searched" (1x)
Key Verses: - ACT 17:11 -- "searched [anakpinontes] the scriptures daily, whether those things were so" -- Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine. The present participle indicates ongoing, habitual action. The Bereans' "examining" of Scripture is the model for evidence-based investigation of claims. - 1CO 2:14 -- "neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned [anakrinetai]" - 1CO 2:15 -- "he that is spiritual judgeth [anakrinei] all things" - 1CO 4:3 -- "it is a very small thing that I should be judged [anakrithō] of you" - LUK 23:14 -- Pilate: "having examined [anakrinas] him before you" - ACT 4:9 -- "if we this day be examined [anakrinometha] of the good deed" - ACT 24:8 -- "by examining [anakrinas] of whom thyself mayest take knowledge"
Significance: The word carries forensic/judicial connotations (examination of evidence, cross-examination of witnesses). The Berean usage (ACT 17:11) establishes a biblical model for testing claims against textual evidence -- they did not simply accept Paul's teaching but scrutinized it against the existing Scriptures. This directly parallels the E/N/I framework's insistence on classifying evidence by its relationship to explicit text.
G3718 - orthotomeo (rightly divide)¶
Original Word: ὀρθοτομέω (orthotomeo) Transliteration: orthotomeo Part of Speech: Verb Definition: From orthos (straight) + the base of tome (a cutting); to make a straight cut, i.e. to handle correctly, to teach the truth directly and correctly BLB Count: 1 (HAPAX in NT)
Translations: - "rightly dividing" (1x, 100%)
Key Verses: - 2TI 2:15 -- "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing [orthotomounta] the word of truth" -- Present Active Participle Accusative Singular Masculine.
LXX Connections: - PRO 3:6 -- orthotomeo in LXX: "he shall direct [make straight] thy paths" - PRO 11:5 -- LXX usage in context of righteousness directing one's way
Significance: Another NT hapax. The metaphor is of cutting a straight line -- precision in handling Scripture. The LXX background (making paths straight) adds the dimension of directness and accuracy. Combined with the imperative "study" (spoudason -- be diligent), this establishes a biblical mandate for careful, precise, methodical handling of Scripture -- the conceptual basis for systematic evidence classification.
G4793 - sugkrino (compare, combine, interpret)¶
Original Word: συγκρίνω (sugkrino) Transliteration: sugkrino Part of Speech: Verb Definition: From sun (together) + krino (to judge); to judge of one thing in connection with another, i.e. to combine, to compare, to interpret BLB Count: 3 (NT); also significant in LXX
Translations: - NT: "comparing" (1CO 2:13), "comparing" (2CO 10:12) - LXX: "interpret" (GEN 40:8,16,22; 41:12,15; JDG 7:15; DAN 5:12)
Key Verses: - 1CO 2:13 -- "comparing [synkrinontes] spiritual things with spiritual" -- Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine. Paul describes the method of Spirit-taught interpretation: placing spiritual things alongside spiritual things for comparison/interpretation. - 2CO 10:12 -- "comparing themselves among themselves"
LXX Occurrences: - GEN 40:8,16,22 -- Joseph interpreting dreams - GEN 41:12,15 -- Joseph interpreting Pharaoh's dream - JDG 7:15 -- Gideon interpreting a dream - DAN 5:12 -- Daniel interpreting writing
Significance: This is the most methodologically important word study in this investigation. The LXX uses sugkrino as the standard term for dream interpretation -- placing the dream alongside its meaning. Paul uses this same word in 1CO 2:13 for the method of spiritual interpretation: "comparing spiritual things with spiritual." This creates a direct lexical link between the OT dream-interpretation pattern (where God provides the interpretation through an authorized interpreter) and the NT Scripture-interprets-Scripture principle. The SIS methodology is not a post-biblical invention; it is encoded in the very vocabulary Paul uses.
G2315 - theopneustos (God-breathed)¶
Original Word: θεόπνευστος (theopneustos) Transliteration: theopneustos Part of Speech: Adjective Definition: From theos (God) + pneo (to breathe); divinely breathed in, inspired by God BLB Count: 1 (HAPAX LEGOMENON in entire NT)
Translations: - "given by inspiration of God" (1x, 100%)
Key Verses: - 2TI 3:16 -- "All scripture is given by inspiration of God [theopneustos], and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" -- Nominative Singular Feminine. The word is a compound adjective predicated of "all scripture" (pasa graphe).
Significance: As a hapax legomenon, this word carries unique theological weight. It establishes that Scripture's origin is divine ("God-breathed"), not human. The four-fold profitability statement (doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction) establishes Scripture as the sufficient standard for all matters of faith and practice. This is foundational to the entire methodology: if Scripture is God-breathed, then its explicit statements (E-level evidence) carry the highest evidentiary weight, and human inferences (I-level) must be tested against them.
G4394 - propheteia (prophecy)¶
Original Word: προφητεία (propheteia) Transliteration: propheteia Part of Speech: Feminine noun Definition: From prophetes (a prophet); prediction (scriptural or other), prophecy, prophesying BLB Count: 19
Translations: - "prophecy" (majority usage) - "prophesying" (variant) - "prophecies" (plural)
Key Verses: - 2PE 1:20 -- "no prophecy [propheteia] of the scripture is of any private interpretation" - 2PE 1:21 -- "prophecy came not in old time by the will of man" - REV 1:3 -- "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy" - REV 19:10 -- "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" - REV 22:7,10,18,19 -- Four occurrences in the closing of Revelation, establishing its content as "prophecy" with warnings against adding to or taking from it - 1CO 13:2,8 -- prophecy as a spiritual gift that will cease - 1TH 5:20 -- "Despise not prophesyings"
Significance: The word's distribution across 2PE 1:20-21, REV 1:3, and REV 22:18-19 creates a doctrinal framework: prophecy originates from God (not human will), must not be privately interpreted, and must not be altered. This triad supports the E/N/I framework's insistence that explicit prophetic statements take precedence over human interpretive constructs.
H974 - bachan (test, prove, examine)¶
Original Word: בָּחַן (bachan) Transliteration: bachan Part of Speech: Verb Definition: A primitive root; to test (especially metals); generally and figuratively, to investigate, examine, prove, try BLB Count: 29
Translations: - "trieth" (4x) -- JOB 34:3; PSA 7:9; 11:5; PRO 17:3 - "try" (3x) -- JOB 12:11; PSA 11:4; JER 17:10 - "that triest" (2x) - "proved" (various) - "Examine me" (1x)
Key Verses: - JOB 12:11 -- "Doth not the ear try [bachan] words? and the mouth taste his meat?" -- The testing/examining faculty applied to words/claims. - JOB 34:3 -- "the ear trieth [bachan] words, as the mouth tasteth meat" -- Same metaphor repeated. - PSA 26:2 -- "Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart" - JER 6:27 -- "I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try [bachan] their way" - JER 17:10 -- "I the LORD search the heart, I try [bachan] the reins" - MAL 3:10 -- "prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts" - ZEC 13:9 -- "I will ... try them as gold is tried" - PRO 17:3 -- "The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts"
Significance: The metallurgical metaphor (testing metals for purity) provides the OT conceptual foundation for evidence testing. Just as a refiner tests metal to separate pure from impure, the E/N/I framework tests interpretive claims to separate explicit textual evidence from human inference. JOB 12:11 and 34:3 specifically apply this testing to words/speech -- the ear "tries" words just as the tongue "tastes" food. This is a biblical mandate for evaluating the quality of interpretive claims.
H6590 - peshar (Aramaic: interpret)¶
Original Word: פְּשַׁר (peshar) Transliteration: peshar Part of Speech: Verb (Aramaic) Definition: Aramaic, corresponding to Hebrew pathar; to interpret BLB Count: 2
Translations: - "interpreting" (1x) - "make [interpretations]" (1x)
Key Verses: - DAN 5:12 -- "an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting [mephashar] of dreams" -- Participle form. Daniel's interpretive gift is catalogued among his divinely given abilities. - DAN 5:16 -- "thou canst make interpretations [lemipeshar]" -- Infinitive form. The queen identifies Daniel's ability to interpret.
Significance: The Aramaic peshar is the root of the famous "pesher" interpretation method found in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran). In Daniel, the word is exclusively associated with divinely enabled interpretation -- Daniel interprets because God gives the interpretation (cf. DAN 2:28). This establishes that authoritative interpretation of divine revelation requires divine enablement, not merely human skill.
H6622 - pathar (Hebrew: interpret dreams)¶
Original Word: פָּתַר (pathar) Transliteration: pathar Part of Speech: Verb Definition: A primitive root; to open up, i.e. (figuratively) interpret (a dream) BLB Count: 9
Translations: - "interpreter" (1x) - "interpretation" (various) - "interpret" (various) - "interpreted" (various)
Key Verses: - GEN 40:8 -- "Do not interpretations belong to God?" -- Joseph's foundational statement that interpretation is a divine prerogative. - GEN 40:16,22 -- Joseph interprets the baker's dream - GEN 41:8 -- Egypt's magicians could not interpret Pharaoh's dream - GEN 41:12,13,15 -- Joseph brought to interpret for Pharaoh
Significance: Used exclusively in the Joseph narratives (GEN 40-41). The root meaning "to open up" suggests that interpretation is an act of disclosure -- opening what was sealed. Joseph's declaration that "interpretations belong to God" (GEN 40:8) is the foundational OT statement on hermeneutical authority. Human interpreters do not generate meaning; they receive and transmit divinely given meaning.
H6623 - pithrown (interpretation of a dream)¶
Original Word: פִּתְרוֹן (pithrown) Transliteration: pithrown Part of Speech: Masculine noun Definition: From pathar; interpretation (of a dream) BLB Count: 5
Translations: - "interpretation" (5x, 100%)
Key Verses: - GEN 40:5 -- "each man according to the interpretation of his dream" - GEN 40:8 -- "Do not interpretations [pithrownot] belong to God?" - GEN 40:12 -- "This is the interpretation of it" - GEN 40:18 -- "This is the interpretation thereof" - GEN 41:11 -- "we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream"
Significance: The noun form of pathar. All 5 occurrences are in the Joseph dream narratives, reinforcing the pattern: interpretation is a distinct entity that "belongs to God" and is disclosed through authorized channels.
H2377 - chazon (vision)¶
Original Word: חָזוֹן (chazon) Transliteration: chazon Part of Speech: Masculine noun Definition: From chazah (to gaze, perceive); a sight (mentally), i.e. a dream, revelation, or oracle -- vision BLB Count: 35
Translations: - "vision" (majority) - "visions" (plural)
Key Verses: - DAN 8:1,2,13,15,17,26 -- Six occurrences in Daniel 8 alone, establishing the chapter as a "vision" requiring interpretation - DAN 9:21,24 -- Gabriel comes to give understanding of the vision; the 70-weeks prophecy is linked to "vision and prophecy" - DAN 10:14 -- "to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days" - DAN 1:17 -- "Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams" - HAB 2:2,3 -- "Write the vision... the vision is yet for an appointed time... it will surely come" - PRO 29:18 -- "Where there is no vision, the people perish" - ISA 1:1 -- "The vision of Isaiah" -- prophetic books identified as "visions" - LAM 2:9 -- "her prophets also find no vision from the LORD" -- cessation of vision as judgment
Significance: The heavy concentration in Daniel (11 of 35 occurrences) establishes Daniel's content as prophetic "vision" requiring divinely enabled interpretation. The HAB 2:2-3 passage adds the temporal dimension: visions have "appointed times" for fulfillment, which grounds the methodology of testing prophetic interpretations against historical data.
H2376 - chezev (Aramaic: vision)¶
Original Word: חֵזֶו (chezev) Transliteration: chezev Part of Speech: Masculine noun (Aramaic) Definition: Aramaic, from chaza (to see); a sight, vision, appearance BLB Count: 12
Translations: - "vision" / "visions" (majority) - "look" (1x)
Key Verses: - DAN 2:19 -- "Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision" - DAN 2:28 -- "thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed" - DAN 4:5[9] -- Nebuchadnezzar's tree dream described as "visions" - DAN 7:1,2,7,13,15 -- Five occurrences in Daniel 7, the chapter of the four beasts and the Son of Man - DAN 7:20 -- "the horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows"
Significance: The Aramaic counterpart to Hebrew chazon. All 12 occurrences are in Daniel, concentrated in chapters 2, 4, and 7 -- the Aramaic section of the book. This confirms that Daniel's Aramaic chapters use the same "vision" framework as the Hebrew chapters, requiring the same angel-interpreter pattern for understanding.
H998 - biynah (understanding)¶
Original Word: בִּינָה (biynah) Transliteration: biynah Part of Speech: Feminine noun Definition: From bin (to discern); understanding, knowledge, wisdom, meaning BLB Count: 38
Translations: - "understanding" (majority) - "knowledge" (variant) - "wisdom" (variant) - "meaning" (variant)
Key Verses: - DAN 8:15 -- "when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning [biynah]" -- Daniel actively seeks understanding of the vision - DAN 9:22 -- "I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding [biynah]" -- Gabriel's stated mission: to impart understanding - DAN 10:1 -- "he understood the thing, and had understanding [biynah] of the vision" -- Daniel receives understanding of the vision - PRO 3:5 -- "lean not unto thine own understanding [biynah]" -- Human understanding alone is insufficient - PRO 4:5,7 -- "Get wisdom, get understanding" - ISA 11:2 -- "the spirit of wisdom and understanding" -- Messianic endowment - ISA 29:14 -- "the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid" -- Judgment on human wisdom
Significance: The three Daniel occurrences (8:15; 9:22; 10:1) map the complete angel-interpreter cycle: Daniel seeks understanding (8:15) -> Gabriel is sent to give understanding (9:22) -> Daniel receives understanding (10:1). The word biynah is the content that the angel-interpreter pattern delivers. The PRO 3:5 usage adds the crucial qualifier: human biynah alone ("thine own understanding") is not to be trusted -- understanding must come through divinely authorized channels. This directly supports the E/N/I framework's distinction between text-derived evidence (E/N) and human inference (I).
Cross-Cutting Lexical Patterns¶
The Interpretation Chain (Hebrew/Aramaic)¶
pathar (H6622) -> pithrown (H6623) -> peshar (H6590) - Hebrew "open up" -> Hebrew "interpretation" -> Aramaic "interpret" - GEN 40-41 (Joseph) -> GEN 40-41 (Joseph) -> DAN 5 (Daniel) - Pattern: Interpretation belongs to God, is delivered through authorized agents
The Interpretation Chain (Greek)¶
epilusis (G1955) -> sugkrino (G4793) -> semaino (G4591) - "interpretation" -> "compare/interpret" -> "signify" - 2PE 1:20 -> 1CO 2:13 / LXX GEN 40:8 -> REV 1:1 - Pattern: Prophecy is not privately interpreted; spiritual is compared with spiritual; revelation is communicated through signs
The Investigation Chain¶
anakrino (G350) -> orthotomeo (G3718) -> bachan (H974) - "scrutinize" -> "cut straight" -> "test/prove" - ACT 17:11 -> 2TI 2:15 -> JOB 12:11; MAL 3:10 - Pattern: Scripture must be examined, rightly divided, and tested -- the biblical mandate for systematic methodology
The Vision-Understanding Chain (Daniel)¶
chazon/chezev (H2377/H2376) -> biynah (H998) -> HAVEN (Hiphil imperative of bin) - "vision" -> "understanding" -> "cause to understand!" (DAN 8:16) - DAN 8:1 -> DAN 8:15 -> DAN 8:16 -> DAN 9:22 -> DAN 10:1 - Pattern: God gives visions, then commands angelic interpreters to make them understood. The interpretation is not left to human ingenuity but is divinely mandated and delivered.