Volume 47   Number 10                                                                       June 2005

One may wonder why the Bible was written the way it is. One simple explanation is that it was written the way people talk. Our modern translations are attempts to translate from Greek and Hebrew into a form that is more easily understood.

Besides being translated from other languages, the Bible contains similes, metaphors and idioms. While this may sound confusing, it is actually the way we communicate everyday.

Some examples of Bible similes:
The Kingdom of heaven is like:
        -a man who sowed good seed
        -a grain of mustard seed
        -treasure hid in a field

Another type of comparison in the Bible is metaphors:
        -The Lord is my shepherd
        -I am the vine and ye are the branches
        -I am the door and I am the light
        -take my yoke upon you, and learn of me

These verses are not to be taken literally, but rather, they
use everyday objects to make a comparison.

The Bible also contains idioms which are a manner of speaking that is natural to the native speaker of a language. Present day examples are:

        “Hold your horses”
        “Don’t rock the boat”
        “Pushing the envelope”.

These figures of speech are not to be taken literally, but are a manner of speaking. Exodus chapters 7 and 8 contain examples of idiom.

In our study of the scriptures, it is very helpful to be able to identify these types of writing.