Sacred Origins of Profound Things, page 12
We often describe purity with the words as white as snow: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (1:18).
A defenseless person approaches his cruel fate like a lamb to the slaughter: “He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (53:7).
The Book of Isaiah, dating from about seven centuries before Christ’s birth, is one of the best-known books of the Old Testament. In fact, it is the book most frequently quoted in the New Testament as an example of prophecy fulfilled, and the one used most often by Jesus himself. The reason for its high quotability is simple. It contains the clearest Old Testament presentation of issues such as the depiction of sin, the helplessness of the sinner, the marvelous love of God, his provision of a Savior, and the calls to repentance and to faith. For this comprehensive spectrum of Gospel issues, Isaiah is often called “the world’s first evangelist.”
In addition to phrases that have become popular clichés, we also borrow from Isaiah many religious expressions and picturesque figures of speech:
“Behold, a virgin shall conceive.”
“For unto us a child is born.”
“All we like sheep have gone astray.”
“They shall mount up with wings as eagles.”
On the other hand, for a putdown, we might use holier than thou: “Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou” (65:5).
A person with a message that’s going unheeded may lament that his is a voice crying in the wilderness: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness” (40:3).
MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL: 1 TIMOTHY 6:9–10
BUT THEY THAT WILL BE RICH FALL INTO TEMPTATION AND A SNARE, AND INTO MANY FOOLISH AND HURTFUL LUSTS…. FOR LOVE OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL.
The banker J. P. Morgan agreed that Saint Paul’s letter to Timothy was right on the money; as Morgan emphasized: “The love of money is the root of all evil.”
Atheist George Bernard Shaw saw it still differently: “The lack of money is the root of all evil.” Money has always been important to those who don’t have it, and even more important to those who do.
Timothy, Paul’s young companion and fellow missionary, had responsibilities for the church at Ephesus. Paul went on to say that greedy people who actively go after wealth “have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” A prophesy once again fulfilled in the 1980s.
A secular cliché plucked from Timothy (1 Tim. 6:12): fight the good fight. Paul, though, meant a very specific battle: “Fight the good fight of faith.”
EYE FOR AN EYE, TOOTH FOR A TOOTH: EXODUS 21:23–24
AND IF ANY MISCHIEF FOLLOW, THEN THOU SHALT GIVE LIFE FOR LIFE, EYE FOR EYE, TOOTH FOR TOOTH, HAND FOR HAND, FOOT FOR FOOT.
Tit for tat is the kind of hard-nosed law-and-order strategy that God imparted to Moses. Indeed, sections of the Old Testament portray a harsh, spiteful, vindictive Creator. The Israelites’ penal code was indeed severe, for the above words are not meant figuratively. An eye meant a viscous orb of vision. The logical extension of the full Exodus passage, which continues in the same vein, seems to imply that a rapist must be raped, a molester himself molested.
The dramatic Book of Exodus, with its historical backdrop of slavery and oppression, shows God’s people in a cruel foreign land, crying out for deliverance, which comes in the form of Moses, who leads the people into a wilderness, where God provides manna to live on and the Ten Commandments to live by.
Some Exodus phraseology that we might casually toss off in everyday conversation:
“I felt like a stranger in a strange land” (2:22).
“Her skin was like milk and honey” (3:8).
“The prize money was like manna from heaven” (16:14–15).
“Oh, how life has hardened your heart” (4:21).
Each of the Ten Commandments found in Exodus has entered our popular speech in its own abbreviated way: Honor your father and your mother … don’t steal … don’t lie … don’t cheat on your wife. It’s amazing how many times a day we unwittingly paraphrase the Commandments, which is the purpose of any moral code: to make moral behavior ingrained behavior.
TO SEE THE WRITING ON THE WALL: DANIEL 5:5–30
IN THE SAME HOUR CAME FORTH FINGERS OF A MAN’S HAND, AND WROTE OVER AGAINST THE CANDLESTICK UPON THE PLASTER OF THE WALL OF THE KING’S PALACE.
A mysterious hand is glimpsed writing on the wall during a feast hosted by Babylonian king Belshazzar, who, as it happens, is delighting over his subjugation of the Jews. As the distraught king watches the disembodied digits, he begs wise men to interpret the script—Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin—offering in exchange wealth and influence. But the royal assortment of soothsayers, numerologists, and astrologers are for once speechless. Out of desperation, the king summons the Jewish prophet Daniel, who breaks the news. The writing on the wall foretells of impending disaster: the downfall of the kingdom and death of the king himself. That night, Belshazzar is slain. Ever since, the meaning of “the writing on the wall” has been clear.
The prophet Daniel’s name means “God is my judge,” and the Book of Daniel, written in the sixth century B.C.E., consists primarily of a series of prophetic dreams and visions. We borrow from Daniel when, for instance, we say a person has feet of clay (2:33), meaning that the individual has no strong underlying foundation.
A WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING: MATTHEW 7:15
BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS, WHO COME TO YOU IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING, BUT INWARDLY THEY ARE RAVENING WOLVES.
Some five centuries before Christ issued that caveat, conveyed by Matthew, the famed Greek fabulist Aesop had penned a cautionary tale about a devious wolf with designs on a flock of unsuspecting sheep. To disguise himself and trick the ever-vigilant shepherd, the wolf slips into a simple sheepskin frock, and he appears so convincingly sheeplike, if not sheepish, that the master of the house, in the mood for mutton stew, slays the sinewy old wolf. Had Jesus read Aesop? Had Matthew? Aesop did enjoy a wide audience; he was a best-selling author of his day.
Today, when we caution, “Beware of a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” we tend to forget that in the original tale, Wolf gets his dastardly due.
Give up the ghost, a metaphor for death, is a cliché that’s come down to us through a spin on Matthew 27:50, in which he wrote about Christ’s death on the cross: “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.” Another clichéd image is lilies of the field. Jesus, celebrating divine providence, directed the attention of his disciples to the sweet flowers: “Consider the lilies of the fields, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of these.”
Then there’s this familiar caution:
DON’T CAST PEARLS BEFORE SWINE: MATTHEW 7:6
GIVE NOT THAT WHICH IS HOLY UNTO THE DOGS, NEITHER CAST YE PEARLS BEFORE SWINE, LEST THEY TRAMPLE THEM UNDER THEIR FEET, AND TURN AGAIN AND REND YOU.
Jesus’ words, from the Sermon on the Mount, suggest that we not offer something that is truly good or holy to a person who is unworthy of the gift. He’ll trample on it, then turn on you.
English Bible translator John Wycliff gave his own explanation for the phrase in 1380, which a later wordsmith rendered as: “Grandma, don’t bequeath your most treasured antiques to a daughter who likes only new things.”
Matthew, it turns out, especially in relating Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, coined many phrases that appeal to us today:
Stay on the straight and narrow: “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads into life” (7:14). The word “strait” means “constricted,” as we use it in “Strait of Gibraltar.”
Seek, and you shall find: “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you” (7:7).
The salt of the earth: by which we imply that a person is dependable and steadfast and, therefore, as valuable to us as salt was to the ancients, is from Matthew 5:13.
Turn the other cheek: by which we mean, instead of seeking revenge, to follow Jesus’ metaphorical advice: “Whosoever shall smite you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (5:39).
The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand’s doing is a phrase we use to describe confusion, befuddlement, or deception, even self-deception: Actually, Matthew tells us Jesus said, “Let not your left hand know what your right hand does” (6:3), meaning that, when performing good works like almsgiving, we should be so secretive that we ourselves barely take note of it (let alone tout the pious acts to our neighbors).
The Good Samaritan.
The return of the Prodigal Son.
Another Gospel writer, John, in recording Jesus’ words, gave us these memorable phrases:
Born again: “I say to you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (3:3).
To cast the first stone: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone” (8:7).
Greater love hath no man: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend” (15:13).
The truth shall make you free: “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (8:32).
The Gospels of John and Luke also present us with three individuals, whose names have come to refer to fundamental types of people:
A Doubting Thomas: John 20:24–25.
A Good Samaritan: Luke 10:30–34.
The Prodigal Son: Luke 15:11–14.
How often in the course of a day do we use Bible quotations or images and never consider the source?
EAT, DRINK, AND BE MERRY: ECCLESIASTES 8:15
A MAN HATH NO BETTER THING UNDER THE SUN, THAN TO EAT, AND TO DRINK, AND TO BE MERRY.
This pagan sentiment seems so worldly, self-centered, and hedonistic, without thought of God, the soul, or sin. In fact, the Old Testament phrase seems the equivalent of the 1980s hip maxim: “Don’t worry, be happy.”
The Book of Ecclesiastes dates from about the tenth century B.C.E. The word “ecclesiastes” is a translation of the Hebrew qoheleth, meaning “The Speaker” or “The Preacher,” and it possibly makes reference to Solomon as the author.
Ecclesiastes is a difficult text to understand, mainly because it seems to offer two disparate sets of ideas. On the one hand, the book suggests, pessimistically, that we live life to the fullest, die, and pass into a state of eternal nonexistence where there is no feeling or consciousness, and from which there is no return.
Vanity of vanities! All is vanity, which opens Ecclesiastes (1:2), sets the cynical tone. “Vanity” is used here in the archaic sense of “futility” or “worthlessness.” This remains a popular sigh of exasperation toward a person consumed with self-importance and worldly matters.
There is nothing new under the sun is also from Ecclesiastes (1:9), and sounds a further negative note; we use it today to suggest that no idea is really new and fresh, everything has been sequeled to death.
Interpreters who adopt this bleak view of the Book of Ecclesiastes—that human endeavor is vain and empty—go on to explain that the book’s optimistic passages, those that imply a belief in God and in justice, are later additions.
An alternate interpretation is to view the Book of Ecclesiastes as a series of sermons, by “The Preacher,” on the vanity of life without God; that is, only a life lived without God is a hopelessly dead-end affair. It’s God’s presence that spares life from being vain and empty, God’s daily grace that makes everything under the sun new and interesting each day.
We also owe our expression there’s a fly in the ointment, meaning “something we value has been slightly spoiled,” or “a problem has cropped up in what seemed a fine arrangement,” to a graphic line from Ecclesiastes: “Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor; so doth a little folly in him that is in reputation for wisdom and honor” (10:1).
SPARE THE ROD, SPOIL THE CHILD: PROVERBS 13:24
HE THAT SPARES HIS ROD HATES HIS SON; BUT HE THAT LOVES HIM CHASTISES HIM MANY TIMES.
The Book of Proverbs embodies the collective wisdom of Israel, often distilled into short, sharp phrases; that is, a list of sayings, taught by sages, on how one is to live life in the presence of God—the “fear of the Lord” being the essence of all true wisdom.
The Bible tells us that King Solomon himself “spoke three thousand proverbs.” But did he compose the Book of Proverbs?
We know that Solomon, through marriage with Pharaoh’s daughter, had close links with Egypt, and it’s conceivable that he was acquainted with the Teaching of Amenemope, wisdom that is closely paralleled in Proverbs. Today, scholars generally agree that the content of Proverbs belongs to the days of Israel’s first kings, though editing continued for centuries. King Hezekiah, for instance, who organized some of the editorial work, reigned 250 years after Solomon. The book as we enjoy it today was finalized, at the latest, by the second century C.E.
Pride goes before the fall is from Proverbs: “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (16:18).
From the same ancient text come two other popular expressions: apple of my eye (7:2; which makes more than one appearance in the Bible), which we apply to someone we cherish, just as “The Preacher” of Proverbs cherished his pupil; and a double-edged sword (5:4), or “two-edged sword,” which means something that “cuts both ways” and requires extra caution in embracing it.
The idea of wisdom epigrams is common in the Old Testament, as it is in the Analects of Confucius, the Precepts of Buddha, and the Traditions of Muhammad. In one place in the Old Testament, it is even said that wisdom is the master craftsman along with God. The aphorisms in the Book of Proverbs cover every aspect of life: spanking children, dealing with parents, growing up, and old, resisting temptation, the folly of riches, the perfect wife.
A STUMBLING BLOCK: ROMANS 14:13
JUDGE THIS RATHER, THAT NO MAN PUT A STUMBLING BLOCK OR AN OCCASION TO FALL IN HIS BROTHER’S WAY.
Our expression “to put a stumbling block in someone’s way” means to impede that person’s actions, whereas the original quotation refers to a “stumbling block” more as a moral obstacle or temptation.
The term “stumbling block” dates from the sixteenth century English translation of the Bible by William Tyndale (the term also appears in 1 Corinthians 8:9). A Humanist and a Protestant martyr, Tyndale produced the English translation that became the basis for the King James Version of the Bible, though he himself was condemned for heresy and burned at the stake.
Romans is Paul’s Gospel manifesto, written around the year 58 C.E. It is the fullest and most closely reasoned statement we have of the basic Christian truths of that time. The apostle Paul, though he had not visited the great city of Rome, sought to explain the nature of the new Christian movement to Romans via a letter. He wrote Romans in sweeping themes, spanning the Creation, Adam and Eve’s disobedience, and on up until the end of the age.
The wages of sin is the phrase Paul gave us when he wrote to Christ’s new followers in Rome: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (6:23). Rome, in Paul’s day, was the rich, cosmopolitan capital of an empire that stretched from Britain to Arabia and was renowned for its love of pleasure and lack of principle. Paul knew in his heart the city and the people he was addressing.
The powers that be is a phrase Paul used in a discussion about the allegiances of Christians to God and to earthly emperors: “The powers that be are ordained of God; let every soul be subject unto the higher powers” (13:1).
Paul also gives us the phrase a law unto themselves (2:14), which we apply to people who act as if they’re above the law, though that’s not the passage’s original intent. Here are Paul’s words: “For when the Gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, they, having not the law, are a law unto themselves.”
Another phrase from Paul in Romans is Vengeance is mine! We shout it as a personal triumph, but in Romans, the words make clear that God is asserting a prerogative: “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (12:19).
DEATH, WHERE IS THY STING?: 1 CORINTHIANS 15:55
O DEATH, WHERE IS THY STING? O GRAVE, WHERE IS THY VICTORY?
Paul traveled to Corinth on his second missionary journey, stayed eighteen months, founded a church, then wrote his letter in about the year 56 C.E. He’d encountered great opposition, for Corinth, a hustling seaport town that catered to all sorts of transients, was notorious as a city of superior wickedness. Indeed, crowning the town was the temple of Aphrodite, goddess of free love, which soldiers often paid for with war booty. The seaport was a haven for prostitutes and a synonym for sexual license: “to Corinthianize” was a popular euphemism of the day for fornication. Paul’s task was a hard one, and a large part of 1 Corinthians is devoted to responding to questions put to him by locals.
If people could not resist sexual temptation, he advised, “better to marry than to burn.” His full speech was: “But if they cannot contain, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn” (1 Cor. 7:9).
Addressing the seaport’s licentiousness, he wrote, “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you,” and in the same passage, a little further along, he gives us: absent in body, but present in spirit (1 Cor. 5:3), which we say to a friend for moral support when we can’t provide bodily comfort, or be present at an important time.
To see through a glass darkly is a popular expression, meaning not to see or comprehend well, like peering through sooty eyeglasses or a soiled windowpane. Paul’s words are: “For now we see through a glass, darkly” (1 Cor. 13:12).
