Go Figure!: An Introduction to Figures of Speech in the Bible

By Julia Hans PhD

How can I tell if a Bible verse is literal or figurative? What’s the difference between metaphor and metonymy? How can I understand a parable? And what’s the function of figurative language anyway?

Go Figure! An Introduction to Figures of Speech in the Bible answers these and other questions about figurative language used in Scripture. With its blend of scholarship and humor, the book appeals to a variety of students. For newcomers, it serves as a way into the complex arena known as figures of speech. And with many examples culled from popular culture, the book speaks to a new generation of students. At the same time, for those more seasoned in the Scriptures, the endnotes, bibliography, introduction, and appendices offer ample material for further study.

Unique Features of this book

More than 1200 Bible verses
Topical arrangement
Expanded definitions
Research from various disciplines, spanning several generations
Examples from popular culture
Examples from the Scriptures
Annotated bibliography
Scripture Index
Original essays
Q and A’s

“I found the book to be an easy-to-understand presentation of many of the figures of speech frequently used in the Bible. I trust this work will be a valuable introductory study of figures of speech to students of the Scriptures in the years to come.”
—Rev. Walter J. Cummins, author of A Journey Through the Acts and Epistles: The Authorized King James Version with Note and a Working Translation, Vols. 1 and 2.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973632177

Julia Hans PhD

Julia Hans, PhD., is a national award-winning essayist and faculty member of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where she teaches writing and literature classes. Her first book, Lamps, Scrolls, and Goatskin Bottles: A Handbook of Bible Customs for Kids, was published by Standard Publishing in 2000. She lives in Lowell, Massachusetts, with her husband, Ravi, and her 15-pound Maine Coon Cat, Manny. You can reach Dr. Hans at [e-mail] or via LinkedIn.

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To Ravi

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

CONTENTS

Foreword to the Second Edition

Preface to the Second Edition

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Section 1: Figures Of Repetition

Chapter 1:Anaphora

Chapter 2:Polysyndeton

Chapter 3:Epistrophe

Chapter 4:Epanalepsis

Chapter 5:Anadiplosis

Chapter 6:Epizeuxis

Chapter 7:Polyptoton

Chapter 8:Synonymia

Chapter 9:Repetitio

Chapter 10:Pleonasm

Section 2: Figures Of Understatement And Overstatement

Chapter 11:Litotes

Chapter 12:Meiosis

Chapter 13:Hyperbole

Section 3: Figures Of Omission

Chapter 14:Asyndeton

Chapter 15:Ellipsis

Section 4: Figures Using Human Attributes

Chapter 16:Prosopopeia

Chapter 17:Anthropopatheia

Section 5: Figures Of Exchange

Chapter 18:Metonymy

Chapter 19:Metalepsis

Chapter 20:Synecdoche

Section 6: Figures Of Comparison

Chapter 21:Simile

Chapter 22:Metaphor

Chapter 23:Metaphor

Chapter 24:Parabola

Chapter 25:Allegory

Section 7: Rhetorical Questions

Chapter 26:Erotesis

Chapter 27:Erotesis

Chapter 28:Erotesis

Chapter 29:Erotesis

Section 8: Idioms And Other Familiar Figures

Chapter 30:Idioma

Chapter 31:Eironeia

Chapter 32:Oxymoron

Appendix 1:Always Having All Sufficiency In All Things: A Look At Some Figures Of Speech In 2 Corinthians 8 And 9

Appendix 2:Beautiful Feet: Seven Figures Of Speech In Romans 10:8-15

Appendix 3:Select Print And Digital Resources For Further Research

Appendix 4:FAQs

Bibliography

Foreword to the Second Edition

What Dr. Julia Hans has developed in this book is something I have envisioned for years. Nearly 50 years ago, I sat through a class on Figures of Speech in the Bible taught by Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille. I began at that time to see the vital importance of being familiar with many of the figures of speech commonly used in the Bible. Around that time, I also acquired Dr. E.W. Bullinger’s monumental work on figures of speech, which has served me well in the study of the Scriptures over the years.

I also had the privilege of learning many of the customs of the lands and times of the Bible taught by Bishop K.C. Pillai, who explained many of the figures of speech and idioms used in the Bible.

Another man who has been very helpful in understanding the figures of speech used in the Bible is Rev. John Crouch, who worked with me for years and who currently has perhaps the finest understanding of that field. Dr. Hans has also been exposed to his understanding in a number of recent conferences in which they have worked together on this subject.

In the mid 1990’s, I suspected that the knowledge of this important subject was being neglected among the many people involved with the study of the Scriptures, and I took up the responsibility to teach an introductory class on figures of speech in areas around the United States. The class was designed to handle commonly used figures of speech that were easily recognizable in the English translations of the Bible. There were also a few figures of speech that involved some knowledge of Greek and Hebrew because they were not evident in the English translations and nonetheless were important to understanding the Scriptures. This class served an immediate purpose, and it was helpful to those who have chosen to study the Scriptures further.

In her book, Dr. Hans builds and expands on the material taught in that class. She did so independent of my previous work and without any prompting from me. Having read the manuscript in preparation, I believe it may well serve as a textbook for many students of the Scriptures in order for them to come to an understanding of this vital subject.

The book shows examples from commonly spoken English as well as from English writers of the past and present in order that the reader may easily understand each figure. Then it shows examples from the Scriptures in which God had holy men of God write using their language to skillfully communicate His Word and Will to mankind. I found the book to be an easy-to-understand presentation of many of the figures of speech frequently used in the Bible.

I trust this work will be a valuable introductory study of figures of speech to students of the Scriptures in the years to come.

Rev. Walter J. Cummins

Preface to the Second Edition

The decision to publish a second edition of Go Figure! An Introduction to Figures of Speech in the Bible was easy. My original publisher went belly-up (idiom), which meant that I would have to transfer my manuscript to another publisher if I wanted to print or to sell more books. That, and I had nearly sold out the first print run and had only a few copies left, meaning that it was time to reprint the book. A second edition would give me the opportunity to update and revise the book, to add new material, and to eliminate the errata. So rather than reissue the original book, I opted for a second edition.

What’s New in the Second Edition?

The second edition of Go Figure! includes several significant additions.

To begin with, there are more than 600 additional Bible verses provided under the for further study section found at the end of each chapter. The chapter on Parable now offers a list of 36 parables occurring in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The chapter on anaphora lists 48 new Scripture references where this figure of repetition occurs. Curious about rhetorical questions used in the Bible? Check out Section 7, which lists more than 50 rhetorical questions occurring in the Book of Job and in the first epistle to the Corinthians. This new feature gives students the opportunity to look up the references themselves, to locate the figure, and to consider what its function in the context might be. These lists might also be used in a group study session, or they might be used as material for a topical teaching.

In addition, this edition includes a new, original essay titled Always Having All Sufficiency in All Things: A Look at Some Figures of Speech in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. Second Corinthians 8 and 9 provide the Church with invaluable truths regarding giving and receiving, and yet failure to understand the many figures occurring in these chapters may hinder one’s understanding of those important truths. For example, how can the Macedonians’ deep poverty overflow in riches of liberality (2 Co. 8:2)? If you’re in deep poverty, then you don’t have riches to overflow. What does it mean that by Jesus Christ’s poverty I was made rich (2 Co. 8:9)? This can’t literally be true, as my bank account will attest. Is the grace mentioned throughout chapter 8 referring to the grace of God that makes salvation available, or is it some other kind of grace, a metonymy for something else? And why are the Corinthians warned against covetousness in 2 Corinthians 9:5? This essay answers these, and other questions about unclear passages in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. At the same time, the essay illustrates how knowledge of figures of speech might be used in a teaching. Rather than being a separate part of biblical teaching, knowledge of figures of speech is an integral part of making clear the Scriptures, and this essay illustrates that principle.

What’s more, Chapter 23 (previously entitled hypocatastasis) has been rewritten and is now titled metaphor without a linking verb. After much deliberation, I decided to go with a more contemporary understanding of this figure because nearly all biblical research resources used today, including Thayers’ Greek-English Lexicon, generally refer to this figure as metaphor, not hypocatastasis. And because the term hypocatastasis is obsolete, using that term makes research difficult. We know that names of figures are manmade, and so to exchange an obsolete name for one that is in circulation today not only makes sense, it also helps with future study. In the end, I went with metaphor without a linking verb because I believe it will help students understand and identify this figure as it is used in the Scriptures.

How I Came to Write this Book

I had just completed course work for a master’s degree in English and was preparing to write a proposal for my thesis paper. I wanted to write on the significance of figures of speech used in the Pauline Epistles, something I had been interested in for years. The department chair of the English Department applauded my idea, and I had the enthusiastic support of a classics professor who agreed to serve as advisor. Now all I had to do was take a semester of New Testament Greek, which I did that spring. Everything was in place. I wrote my proposal, submitted it to the graduate committee, and waited.

My proposal was rejected.

The committee cited two reasons: first, the topic was deemed too theological for an English department; and second, there were not enough primary or secondary sources on the topic. The first reason was debatable. Why did the English department offer a course Bible as Literature if the topic was too theological? But I couldn’t argue with the second. While there are plenty of books written about figures of speech in secular literature, particularly classical and Renaissance writings, and while there are dozens of reference books that define figures, there is scant scholarship about figures of speech in the Bible. And by scant, I mean one--E. W. Bullinger’s Figures of Speech Used in the Bible Explained and Illustrated published in 1898. Disappointed, I chose another topic for my master’s thesis—American satire, a topic I would later develop for my doctoral dissertation. I tucked away the proposal on figures of speech in the Pauline Epistles and got on with my work.

Twelve years passed, but all the while I continued to study figures of speech in the Bible. As I studied, I could see the need for a book that might serve as an introduction to this field, something that would be useful to the general reader as well as to students of the Bible who knew some Hebrew or Greek. Go Figure! An Introduction to Figures of Speech in the Bible is the result of those off-again, on-again years of study. My intent was to write an introduction to this vast topic and to make the field accessible to the modern reader, something that might serve as a springboard to the much more scholarly work done by Bullinger. What started out as a potential topic for a thesis paper has turned into a reference book on figures of speech used in the Bible. Go figure!

Why an Introductory book?

I thought an introductory book would be helpful because the one reference book dedicated to this topic can be difficult and intimidating to use. Without equivocation Figures of Speech Used in the Bible Explained and Illustrated remains the gold standard in the field. In it Bullinger, a nineteenth-century English scholar and Anglican clergyman, painstakingly classifies 217 figures and provides more than 8000 Scripture references in his erudite, 1100-page volume. Like many scholars of his generation, Bullinger works in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin and moves seamlessly from one language to the other throughout his book. Consider his definition of idiom:

Id-i-ō´-ma. Greek, 141925.png , a peculiarity, from 141975.png (idios), one’s own, and 142021.png (id-i-o-tis´-mos), the common manner of speaking. Whence the Latin name for the figure IDIOTISMUS (819).

Here Bullinger supplies the transliterated Greek, followed by the Greek word with a brief translation and etymology, then an English definition, ending with the Latin equivalent. If the reader is unfamiliar with Hebrew, Greek, or Latin, such a definition might be difficult to understand.

Bullinger’s masterpiece can also be difficult to use today because of its classical nomenclature, Roman numerals, complex classification system, and technical terminology. (Note: The digital version has converted all of the Roman numerals to Arabic numbers.) Consider his definition of heterosis of the tenses (past for the present): The past tense expresses what is either imperfect or perfect, or what is a gentle imperative, or a fixed determination, or a continuation of the action or state (Bullinger 517). Readers unfamiliar with grammatical terms would be hard pressed to understand this definition. And does anyone know what CXLIV is without using an online Roman numeral converter? I don’t. So, while Bullinger’s work is an indispensible reference book, it can be difficult to use for readers who are unfamiliar with Roman numerals, classical languages, and grammatical technicalities.

Go Figure! An Introduction to Figures of Speech in the Bible is designed to serve as a way into this important field. With examples drawn from popular and general culture—everything from Christian rapper LeCrae to comedienne Tina Fey—the book is written with today’s reader in mind. It covers thirty-two major figures, provides comprehensive yet easy to understand definitions, and then gives examples (more than 700 in all) from general culture and from the Bible. Students who wish to go further in their study might consult the endnotes and bibliography, which are filled with added information and technical details. The new For Further Study section at the end of each chapter is also provided for additional study.

Acknowledgements

This second edition would not have been possible but for the copyediting skill (and patience) of my daughter, Kristin Stevens, who also helped design the fantastic new book cover. Thank you to the folks who read and offered feedback on the new essay (Appendix 1) particularly Rev. Susan Miller and Juli Boccio. To those who prayed for this project, I offer my sincerest gratitude. I also wish to thank Rev. Walter Cummins for reading the original manuscript, for offering insight and encouragement along the way, and for consenting to write the foreword to this second edition. I am indebted to Paul and Kristin Hampikian, who graciously made their beachfront condo available to Ravi and me for writing, and on more than one occasion.

For a few years I had the privilege of overseeing a small research group that provided me with insights into many aspects of figures of speech. I wish to thank the original participants of that group, Rev. David Bergey, Rev. John Crouch, Greg Earle, and Amanda Reilly, for their assistance with the first edition. Special thanks go to the proofreaders of the original manuscript, Oonagh Buchanan and Ray Myers, dear friends both. And of course, the individual I owe the most thanks to is my husband, Ravi. It is not hyperbole to say that without his love and patient encouragement this book would not have been written. Ravi, you have always been an Ephesians 3:20 kind of guy, and I’m thankful we are heirs together of the grace of life.

Finally, all thanks and praise go to God my Heavenly Father, the Ancient of Days, L’Eternel, for His boundless mercy, kindness, patience, and grace. May I say, with the psalmist:

"Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his

greatness is unsearchable." (Psalm 145:3)

INTRODUCTION

So, What are Figures of Speech Anyway?

Most writing, whether fiction, poetry, drama, or non-fiction, makes use of figurative language for many reasons: to emphasize a point, to dramatize a setting, to imbue a passage with some sort of mood or tone, to make a passage more interesting or entertaining, and so on. Technically speaking, figures of speech are either departures from normal rules of speech or language, or they express a truth in an unusual or nonliteral way. Vilant-Macbeth defines figurative language as a word or words thrown into a peculiar form. A word is used figuratively when it is brought forward in a form, construction, or application different from its first or its simplest form, construction, or application (xl). In other words, language is figurative when there is a departure from normal rules of grammar or syntax, or when the meaning of the word is not literal.

Many rhetoricians classify figures into two groups: figures of grammar and figures of thought.

Figures of grammar are those that depart from rules of grammar or syntax. Bullinger writes, "All language is governed by law. But in order to increase the power of a word, or the force of an expression, these laws are designedly departed from, and words and sentences are thrown into, and used in, new forms, or figures" (v). For example, polysyndeton is a figure of grammar that uses repeated conjunctions more than ordinary usage would require. Normal rules of grammar indicate that a conjunction comes between the last two nouns in a series, not between each noun. And so, an overabundance of ands in a sentence or verse may be a figure of repetition, polysyndeton. Consider the following verse:

Joshua 7:24 (emphasis added)

And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.

In this verse, eleven nouns (or noun phrases) are linked together by the conjunction and. This abundant use of the word and in this sentence constitutes the figure polysyndeton, a figure of grammar that uses conjunctions beyond the grammatical norm. This figure emphasizes each item enumerated.

While figures of grammar are departures from normal rules of grammar, figures of thought occur when what is stated is not literally true to fact or true to its natural meaning. We use these types of figures every day. I could say I’m tired, but instead I say, I’m worn out. The dancer isn’t merely talented; you can’t hold a candle to her. And the ambitious executive isn’t decisive; he takes the bull by the horns. This is figurative language, not true to fact but true in meaning.

Now let’s consider an example of a figure of thought in the Bible:

John 21:25

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

Are the words literal here--there would not be enough room in the world to hold all the books that should be written about the many other things that Jesus did? No, this is the figure of speech hyperbole, or exaggeration. In this verse, the figure is used to emphasize the significance of the many other things that Jesus did that were not written down.

Figures of speech, whether of grammar or of thought, enliven language and give it emphasis; they deepen expression, heighten the drama of communication, and give it freshness, vitality, and variety. They often, though not always, draw attention to what is being said.

So, how do we know if Biblical language is figurative or literal? Bullinger provides the following important insight regarding this question:

. . . whenever and wherever possible, the words of Scripture are to be understood literally, but when a statement appears to be contrary to our experience, or to known fact, or revealed truth; or seems to be at variance with the general teaching of the Scriptures, then we may reasonably expect that some figure is employed. (xv)

Basically, Bullinger is saying that whenever and wherever possible, the words of the Bible are to be understood literally. Sometimes, though, the words are figurative. Let’s take a closer look at Bullinger’s guidelines. When a statement appears to be

then we may reasonably expect that there is a figure of speech involved. These guidelines are helpful to keep in mind as we endeavor to understand and to identify figurative language in the Bible.

Some figures, like many figures of repetition, are easy to spot. You can see the repetition right in the text. (One can imagine that these figures were also quite apparent when the Scriptures were read aloud.) For instance, note how the word praise is repeated in the following verses:

Psalm 148:1-4 (emphasis added)

Praise ye the Lord.

Praise ye the Lord from the heavens:

praise him in the heights.

Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.

Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.

This is the figure of speech anaphora, a figure of grammar that occurs when a word is repeated at the beginning of successive sentences, phrases, or clauses. In these four verses the word praise occurs eight times at the beginning of eight successive clauses. Figures of repetition like anaphora tend to be easier to identify than figures of thought because you can see the words repeated.

Figures of thought can be more difficult to identify and require a careful consideration of the context. Consider these words spoken to Rebekah by her family just before she was about to leave them to marry Isaac:

Genesis 24:60

And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.

In the context, Rebekah’s family sends her off with a blessing, be thou the mother of thousands of millions. The phrase be thou the mother of thousands of millions is not literal but figurative, either an idiom or hyperbole. It is a figurative way of saying, may you be happy and prosperous. Motherhood was highly valued in the lands and times of the Bible, and so to be the mother of many children would be considered a great blessing. Figures of thought like idiom and hyperbole can be more difficult to identify in the Scriptures than figures of grammar, and they require a careful consideration of the context in order to appreciate their meaning.

Benefits of Studying Figurative Language

Identifying figures