Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical literature, the term "vapor" is often used metaphorically to describe the transient and fleeting nature of human life and earthly pursuits. The concept of vapor is primarily found in the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, where it serves as a poignant reminder of the brevity and impermanence of life.
Hebrew and Greek TermsThe Hebrew word often translated as "vapor" is "hebel" (הֶבֶל), which can also mean "breath" or "vanity." In the Greek New Testament, the equivalent term is "atmis" (ἀτμίς), which similarly conveys the idea of mist or vapor.
EcclesiastesThe Book of Ecclesiastes frequently employs the term "hebel" to emphasize the futility and ephemeral nature of human endeavors.
Ecclesiastes 1:2 states, "Futility of futilities, says the Teacher, futility of futilities! Everything is futile!" Here, "futility" is translated from "hebel," underscoring the transient nature of worldly achievements and pleasures. The repeated use of "hebel" throughout Ecclesiastes serves as a central theme, urging readers to seek meaning beyond the temporal.
JamesIn the New Testament, the Epistle of James echoes this theme.
James 4:14 states, "You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." This passage uses the imagery of vapor to highlight the uncertainty and shortness of life, encouraging believers to live with humility and dependence on God's will.
Psalms and ProverbsThe Psalms and Proverbs also reflect on the concept of vapor.
Psalm 39:5 declares, "Behold, You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before You. Truly, each man at his best exists as but a breath." Similarly,
Proverbs 21:6 warns, "Making a fortune by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit." Both passages use the imagery of vapor to convey the fleeting nature of life and the futility of dishonest gain.
Theological ImplicationsThe biblical use of vapor as a metaphor serves to remind believers of the temporal nature of earthly life and the importance of focusing on eternal values. It calls for a perspective that prioritizes spiritual over material pursuits, urging individuals to seek wisdom, righteousness, and a relationship with God. The imagery of vapor challenges believers to live with an awareness of life's brevity and to invest in what is lasting and meaningful in the sight of God.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) Any substance in the gaseous, or aeriform, state, the condition of which is ordinarily that of a liquid or solid.
2. (n.) In a loose and popular sense, any visible diffused substance floating in the atmosphere and impairing its transparency, as smoke, fog, etc.
3. (n.) Wind; flatulence.
4. (n.) Something unsubstantial, fleeting, or transitory; unreal fancy; vain imagination; idle talk; boasting.
5. (n.) An old name for hypochondria, or melancholy; the blues.
6. (n.) A medicinal agent designed for administration in the form of inhaled vapor.
7. (n.) To pass off in fumes, or as a moist, floating substance, whether visible or invisible, to steam; to be exhaled; to evaporate.
8. (n.) To emit vapor or fumes.
9. (n.) To talk idly; to boast or vaunt; to brag.
10. (v. t.) To send off in vapor, or as if in vapor; as, to vapor away a heated fluid.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
VAPORva'-per:
(1) edh: "For he draweth up the drops of water, which distill in rain from his vapor" (Job 36:27); "There went up a mist ['edh] from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground" (Genesis 2:6).
(2) nasi', "vapor," i.e. that which rises, from nasa', "to lift": "Who causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth" (Psalm 135:7; compareJeremiah 10:13;Jeremiah 51:16); also translated "clouds": "as clouds and wind without rain" (Proverbs 25:14).
(3) InJob 36:33, the King James Version has "vapour" ("concerning the vapour") for `alah, alah, "to go up," where the Revised Version (British and American) reads "concerning the storm that cometh up."
(4) qiTor: "fire and hail, snow and vapor" (Psalm 148:8); elsewhere, "smoke": "The smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace" (Genesis 19:28); "I am become like a wineskin in the smoke" (Psalm 119:83).
(5) atmis: "blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke" (Acts 2:19); "For ye are a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away" (James 4:14).
The first two of the preceding quotations are interesting as indicating the knowledge that vapor of water from the earth or sea is the source of the rain. Visible vapor, i.e. mist or fog, is much less common in Palestine than in many other countries. In the mountains, however, especially in Lebanon, mists are of frequent occurrence, appearing to those below as clouds clinging to the mountains.
Alfred Ely Day
Greek
822. atmis --vapor...vapor. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: atmis Phonetic Spelling:
(at-mece') Short Definition: breath, steam,
vapor Definition: breath, steam
...Strong's Hebrew
1892. hebel --vapor, breath... 1891, 1892. hebel. 1893 .
vapor, breath. Transliteration: hebel Phonetic Spelling:
(heh'bel) Short Definition: vanity. Word Origin a prim.
...5387b. nasi -- rising mist,vapor
... rising mist,vapor. Transliteration: nasi Short Definition: clouds. Word Origin
from nasa Definition rising mist,vapor NASB Word Usage clouds (3), vapors (1)....
108. ed -- a mist
... mist,vapor. From the same as 'uwd (in the sense of enveloping); a fog -- mist,
vapor. see HEBREW 'uwd. 107, 108. ed. 109 . Strong's Numbers.
5387. nasiy' -- one lifted up, a chief, prince
... Spelling: (naw-see') Short Definition: captain. captain, chief, cloud, governor,
prince, ruler,vapor Or nasi' {naw-see'}; from nasa...
79. abaq -- to wrestle
... wrestle. A primitive root, probably to float away (asvapor), but used only as
denominative from 'abaq; to bedust, ie Grapple -- wrestle. see HEBREW 'abaq....
6227. ashan -- smoke
... smoke. From ashan; smoke, literally or figuratively (vapor, dust, anger) --
smoke(-ing). see HEBREW ashan. 6226, 6227. ashan. 6228 . Strong's Numbers.
7834. shachaq -- dust, cloud
... From shachaq; a powder (as beaten small): by analogy, a thinvapor; by extension,
the firmament -- cloud, small dust, heaven, sky. see HEBREW shachaq....
Library
The Oracles.
... Plans of Croesus."The River Halys."Nature of the oracles."Situation of Delphi."The
gaseousvapor."The priestess."The sacred tripod."The oracle of...
Who is She that Goeth up by the Wilderness, Like a Pillar of Smoke...
... wilderness, like a pillar of smoke?""The Bride becomes so purified in the arms of
her Beloved, that she issues from them, like a subtlevapor almost consumed...
The Faithful Servant
... to the army who were not fighting-men, and old Momus, saw first, before the attack
on the Temple began, a soft increasing dun-coloredvapor rise between the...
Whether There are Waters Above the Firmament?
... ad lit. ii, 4), that waters resolved intovapor may be lifted above the
starry heaven, is a mere absurdity. The solid nature of...
By the Wayside
... there lay before them a long gentle slope smooth and dun-colored as some soft pelt,
dropping down into a tender vale with levels of purplevapor hanging over it...
Christ Teaching Liberality
... As the sun shines on the surface of the ocean, it makes the water warm, and turns
it intovapor, like the steam that comes from the boiling kettle....
Acts ii. 14
... of the taking of Jerusalem. "Blood and fire, andvapor of smoke." Observe
how he describes the capture. "The sun shall be turned...
Matt. xvi. 28
... threatens, He shows a dark cloud;"as on Mount Sinai; for "Moses," it is said, "entered
into the cloud, and into the thick darkness; and as avapor, so went...
The Awakened Sinner Urged to Immediate Consideration and Cautioned...
... Is not even as avapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away?"
(Jam.4:14) And what is your security, or what is your peculiar warrant...
But as to the Unjust, they are Dragged by Force to the Left Hand.....
... them into the neighborhood of hell itself; who, when they are hard by it, continually
hear the noise of it, and do not stand clear of the hotvapor itself; but...
Thesaurus
Vapor (6 Occurrences)... blues. 6. (n.) A medicinal agent designed for administration in the form of
inhaled
vapor. 7
... evaporate. 8. (n.) To emit
vapor or fumes. 9
...Mist (17 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) Visible wateryvapor suspended in the atmosphere,
at or near the surface of the earth; fog.... SeeVAPOR. Alfred H. Joy....
Smoke (98 Occurrences)
... 1. (n.) The visible exhalation,vapor, or substance that escapes, or expelled, from
a burning body, especially from burning vegetable matter, as wood, coal...
Expire (14 Occurrences)
... 2. (vt) To give forth insensibly or gently, as a fluid orvapor; to emit in minute
particles; to exhale; as, the earth expires a dampvapor; plants expire odors...
Dew (35 Occurrences)
... atmosphere. Palestine is fortunate in being near the sea, so that there
is always a large percentage of watervapor in the air....
Boil (29 Occurrences)
... 1. (v.) To be agitated, or tumultuously moved, as a liquid by the generation and
rising of bubbles of steam (orvapor), or of currents produced by heating it...
Cloud (119 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary. 1. (n.) A collection of visiblevapor, or watery
particles, suspended in the upper atmosphere. 2. (n.) A...
Hail (42 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary. 1. (n.) Small roundish masses of ice precipitated from
the clouds, where they are formed by the condensation ofvapor....
Hierapolis (1 Occurrence)
... regarded as the stronghold of Satan, for there was a Plutonium, or a hole reaching
far down into the earth, from which there issued avapor, even poisoning the...
Resources
What does it mean that life is a vapor? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the canopy theory? | GotQuestions.orgIs there any truth to the chemtrail conspiracy? | GotQuestions.orgVapor: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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