07/04/2024
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
— 2 Timothy 2:15
There are keys to rightly divide the word it is helpful to understand figures of speech. We use figures of speech daily. So, what are figures of speech?
- [ ] “A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from ordinary language use to produce a rhetorical effect.[1] Figures of speech are traditionally classified into schemes, which vary the ordinary sequence of words, and tropes, where words carry a meaning other than what they ordinarily signify.
- [ ] An example of a scheme is a polysyndeton: the repetition of a conjunction before every element in a list, whereas the conjunction typically would appear only before the last element, as in "Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!"—emphasizing the danger and number of animals more than the prosaic wording with only the second "and". An example of a trope is the metaphor, describing one thing as something it clearly is not, as a way to illustrate by comparison, as in "All the world's a stage."” Wikipedia. Additionally, polysyndeton works to give equal emphasis to all the words in a list rather than listing them in order of importance.
There are over 200 different figures of speech used by God to emphasize passages, or verses, or words. Today we will look at one figure, the parenthesis.
- [ ] Parenthesis, (pl) parentheses
1a: an amplifying or explanatory word, phrase, or sentence inserted in a passage from which it is usually set off by punctuation explained further in a parenthesis
1b: a remark or passage that departs from the theme of a discourse
The book of Romans can be divided into three parts, chapters 1-8, 9-11, 12-16. The first chapters may be called the doctrinal (our correct believing), the last part, the practical (our correct practice), and 9-11 is addressed alternately to the Judeans (Jews) and the Goy (nations), not to the saint. Chapters 9-11 form a parenthesis within the narrative, the contents of which can stand on their own. You may read chapters 9-11 as a unit. Then, read through chapter 8 and immediately into 12. Observe the flow and continuity where they join, 8 leading into 9 or 8 directly into 12. You may read without pause or question. Chapters 9-11 are not necessary for our understanding (of our doctrine and practice), nor would be missed by the (saved) reader. You shall see.
For further understanding this topic i have given this link which will lead you to a book “Figures Of Speech Used In The Bible“ by E.W. Bullinger. This book has been used by many since its release in 1898, 126 years ago, but is considered by biblical scholars to be THE seminal work on this topic.
https://ia801301.us.archive.org/6/items/figuresofspeechu00bull/figuresofspeechu00bull.pdf
Happy dividing!
