Difficult Bible words
Words have their histories, like men. Like them they live and die. A word that meant one thing may mean another hundreds of years afterwards, and may at last cease to be used at all. In our English translation (the Authorized Version of King James in the year 1611) there are many words found that are now, after the lapse of almost 400 years, obsolete (that is, gone out of use) or obsolescent (that is, going out of use). Others have somewhat changed their meanings. The following are some hard, and old-fashioned, words to be found in the King James Version, with their present-day meaning:
| Abomination | An object that fills us with disgust, particularly an idol. |
| Ambassage | The same word is translated “message” in Luke 19:14. |
| Asswaged | Sank down, subsided. |
| Astonied | Astonished. |
| Audience | The Hebrew word means the ear. Abraham spoke in the ear of the children of Heth; we say “in the hearing of”. To give audience means to listen. |
| Barbarian | An alien or foreigner. |
| Barbarous | Foreign. |
| Baser | “Certain lewd fellows of the baser sort”; that is, wicked men who hung about the market place; vile men of the rabble. |
| Bewrayeth | Betrays. |
| Carriage | That which is carried, baggage. We now say luggage. |
| Charger | Dish in the Old Testament (Num 7), where silver chargers are spoken of. But in the New Testament (Mat 14) the Greek word “pinax” means a wooden drinking cup. |
| To be at charges | To discharge the cost of, to bear the expense of. |
| Convert | To turn again. |
| Fain | Gladly. |
| Garner | Granary (barn). |
| Jot, Yod | The smallest Hebrew letter. “Iota” is the Greek. Both correspond to the English letter “I” but it is often transliterated “J” in our Bible. The names Jerusalem, Jesus, Isaac, Isaiah, Judah, Israel, John, James, Jacob, etc., all begin with this letter. |
| Knop | An old way of writing “knob”. In connection with the tabernacle, the knops were carved imitations of the buds of flowers. |
| Latchet | The thong by which the sandal was attached to the foot. |
| Let | In a few passages only, ‘let’ means ‘hindered’ (Exo 5:4; Isa 43:13; Rom 1:13; 2 Thes. 2:7). |
| Liketh | Pleases. |
| Lively | Living. |
| Maul | A heavy hammer. |
| Meat | Food of any kind. In the RV the words “meal offering” have been substituted for meat offering. This expresses the sense better. |
| Mete | To measure. |
| Meteyard | The English means to measure by the yard, or a yard measure. The Hebrew (Lev19:35) is best translated by the word “measure” only. |
| Minish | Diminish. |
| Minister | A servant. |
| Mite | A very small coin. |
| Mote | A minute particle of dust; a speck (Mat 7:3). |
| Neesing | Sneezing. |
| Nether | Lower. |
| Nethermost | Lowest. |
| Occupy | To do business; to trade. |
| Occupier | Trader. |
| Offence | In many places, a stumbling block, “skandalon”, the original of our word “scandal”. |
| Ouches | Sockets. |
| Overlived | Outlived. |
| Peradventure | Perhaps; it may be. |
| Pottage | That which is prepared in a pot. |
| Presently | In the present moment; now. |
| Printed | Engraved; “inscribed” (RV). |
| Proper | Goodly, comely. |
| Proselyte | “One who has come to”, therefore a convert to Judaism. |
| Provoked | Stirred up, stimulated. |
| Quick | Living. |
| Quicken | To make alive. |
| Quit | Behave, or, as we now say, acquit. |
| Ranges | Ranks in 2Ki 11:8. |
| Ravin | Plunder. |
| Reins | The kidneys, regarded as the seat of joy, pain, etc. |
| Reprobate | Refuse. |
| Ringstraked | Streaked with rings. |
| Riotous | Gluttonous. |
| Scall | An eruption on the head or face. |
| Scrabbled | Scrawled, or scratched. |
| Scrip | A small bag or wallet. |
| Seethe | To boil. |
| Sherd | A sherd, potsherd, a broken piece of pottery. |
| Silverlings | Pieces of silver. |
| Sith | Since. |
| Sod, Sodden | Boil, Boiled. |
| Sottish | Foolish. |
| Staggered | “Wavered” (RV) |
| Strawed | Strewed, scattered. |
| Tables | Writing tablets covered with wax. |
| Tabret | A kind of small tambourine. |
| Tell | To number or count. |
| Temperance | Self-control. |
| Tempt | To test, try, put to the proof. |
| Tetrarch | Ruler over a fourth part. |
| Thought | “Anxiety” in Matthew 6:25. |
| Tired | Adorned with a tire or head dress; attired. |
| Tittle | The minute point added to one Hebrew letter to distinguish it from another. |
| Tormentors | Torturers. |
| Trow | To think, imagine. |
| Twain | An old form from the Anglo-Saxon “twegen” — two; hence the Scotch “twa”, and the English “twainty” or twenty. |
| Unperfect | Imperfect. |
| Untoward | Not toward; ie, inclined in the opposite direction. |
| Utter | Sometimes means outer. |
| Vagabond | A wanderer. |
| Vile | Worthless. |
| Ware | Aware. |
| Whit | A bit, atom; every whit, wholly; not a whit, not at all. |
| Wilily | Craftily. |
| Wise | Way. On this wise, in this way. |
| Wist | Knew. |
| Wit | To wit, to know. |
| With | Young twig of willow. |
| Wot | Knew. |
| Yokefellow | Fellow-laborer. |