THE ART OF BIBLICAL OBSERVATION: Figures of Speech (Biblical text)

        THE ART OF BIBLICAL OBSERVATION:  Figures of Speech (Biblical text)

SIMILE - A direct comparison of two things that are essentially different. Characterized by use of: like, as, and so. Example: James 1:10-11, S.o.S. 2:2-3, Matt. 23:27

METAPHOR - An indirect comparison of two things, asserts that one thing is another. A metaphor is the substitution of the name of one thing for another. Like a simile but the connectives of like, as and so are left out. Example: Gal. 2:9 - "pillars", Prov. 23:27, Matt. 3:7 - "you brood of vipers"

ALLEGORY - An extended metaphor that has the form of a story. Example: Literature - Pilgrim's Progress, Screw tape Letters, Scripture – Gal. 4:21-31

ANALOGY - A rather full comparison showing several points of similarity between unlike things. Example: John 15:1-9 - "vine and branches"

IRONY - Implies something different, even the opposite of what is stated. Used for the effect of humor or sarcasm. Example: I Cor. 4:8 and 6:5

PERSONIFICATION - The attribution of life or human qualities to inanimate objects. Example: Prov. 9:1-3, Prov. 8, Gal. 3:8

APOSTROPHE - Addressing or speaking to things, abstract ideas or imaginary objects. Example: I Cor. 15:55 - "O death, where is thy sting?"

HYPERBOLE - Exaggeration, not with the intent to deceive but to emphasize and intensify an impression. Example: Gal. 4:15 - "You would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me." Mark 9:43 - "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off..."

RHETORICAL QUESTIONS - These are questions posed for which the author doesn't expect an answer. Example: I Cor. 1:13 - "Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?" Matt. 7:16 - "Are grapes gathered from thorns?"

LITOTES - The use of understatement, the opposite of hyperbole and is often used as irony. Example: Acts 15:2 - "no small discussion"

METONYMY - The substitution of one term for another. Example: Rom. 3:30 - "Circumcision" for"Jews", Gal. 3:19 - "Seed" for "Jesus"

SYNECDOCHE - Part of something is mentioned but the whole is meant. Example: Gal. 1:16 - "Didn't confer with flesh and blood", James 4:8b

EUPHEMISM - The substitution of a mild, indirect or vague expression for a harsh, blunt one. Euphemisms are used to indirectly discuss such topics as bodily functions, anatomy or unpleasant topics. Example: Gen. 4:1, Is. 7:20, Deut. 28:56,57

ANTHROPOMORPHISM - The practice of describing God in human terms as if he has hands, feet, a face, etc. Example: Ex. 24:10, John 10:29, Matt.18:10

TYPES - A type prefigures something or someone to come. A prefiguring symbol such as an Old Testament event prefiguring an event in the New Testament: the Passover foreshadows Christ's sacrificial death (I Cor. 5:7). It is best to have the type explicitly mentioned in the New Testament. Example: Romans 5:14,1 Cor. 15:45, John 3:14,15

SYMBOLS - Something that stands for another meaning in addition to its ordinary meaning. It is usually a visual image that represents an invisible concept. In interpreting symbols one is not free to impose his own interpretation but he must discover the author's intention by taking into consideration the culture, principles of interpretation, the overall message of the book and in many cases the author's own specific definition. Example: Rev. 1:12, 20

PROLEPSIS - is a figure of speech and narrative technique where a future event is referred to or depicted as if it has already occurred. It acts as anticipation, allowing a writer to project an upcoming event into the present moment for dramatic, persuasive, or thematic effect.

MERISM - is a figure of speech in which a thing is referred to by listing it's contrasting or complementary parts rather than stating the whole itself. By mentioning two opposite extremes, the speaker or writer intends to convey totality, encompassing everything in between

Reference: University of the Nations in Battambang, Cambodia