Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical literature, the term "dense" is often used metaphorically to describe spiritual or intellectual insensitivity, a lack of understanding, or the impenetrability of certain situations or objects. The concept of density can be applied to both physical and spiritual contexts within the Bible.
Physical DensityIn a physical sense, the Bible occasionally refers to dense materials or objects. For example, the construction of the Tabernacle and the Temple involved the use of dense materials like gold and acacia wood, which were chosen for their durability and beauty (
Exodus 25:10-11). The density of these materials symbolized the strength and permanence of God's dwelling place among His people.
Spiritual DensityMore frequently, the Bible uses the concept of density to describe spiritual or intellectual dullness. This metaphorical use is evident in passages where individuals or groups fail to perceive or understand spiritual truths. For instance, in
Isaiah 6:9-10, the prophet is instructed to deliver a message to the people: "Go and tell this people: ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes." Here, the density of the people's hearts and minds prevents them from comprehending God's message.
Similarly, in the New Testament, Jesus often encountered spiritual density among His disciples and the crowds. In
Mark 8:17-18, Jesus questions His disciples, saying, "Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?" This passage highlights the disciples' struggle to grasp the spiritual significance of Jesus' teachings and miracles, despite witnessing them firsthand.
Parables and UnderstandingJesus frequently used parables to convey deep spiritual truths, knowing that their meaning would be dense or obscure to those not open to understanding. In
Matthew 13:13, He explains, "This is why I speak to them in parables: 'Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.'" The density of the parables served both to reveal and to conceal, depending on the listener's spiritual receptivity.
The Role of the Holy SpiritThe Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit plays a crucial role in overcoming spiritual density. In
1 Corinthians 2:14, Paul writes, "The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. They are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." The Holy Spirit illuminates the minds of believers, enabling them to penetrate the dense mysteries of God's wisdom and truth.
ConclusionThe concept of density in the Bible serves as a powerful metaphor for the challenges of spiritual perception and understanding. Whether describing the impenetrability of physical materials or the hardness of human hearts, the Bible uses this imagery to call believers to seek deeper insight and openness to God's revelation.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
a.) Having the constituent parts massed or crowded together; close; compact; thick; containing much matter in a small space; heavy; opaque; as, a dense crowd; a dense forest; a dense fog.
2. (a.) Stupid; gross; crass; as, dense ignorance.
Greek
2217. zophos -- deep gloom... 2217 -- murky, appalling gloom, referring to darkness so
dense and foreboding it
is "felt"; (figuratively) , associated with the nether world () bringing its
...4456. poroo -- to petrify, ie to harden
... 4456 (from , a kind of marble) -- properly, made of ; (figuratively) ; dull, as ;
calloused (hardened); ie unresponsive (dense), completely lacking sensitivity...
3509. nephos -- a mass of clouds, a cloud
... Neuter Transliteration: nephos Phonetic Spelling: (nef'-os) Short Definition: a
cloud, multitude, great company Definition: a cloud; met: adense crowd, a...
453. anoetos -- not understanding
... think") -- properly, non-thinking, ie not "reasoning through" a matter (with proper
logic); unmindful, which describes acting in a "mindless,dense" way ("just...
Strong's Hebrew
3514. kobed -- heaviness, mass... 3513, 3514. kobed. 3515 . heaviness, mass. Transliteration: kobed Phonetic
Spelling: (ko'-bed) Short Definition:
dense. Word Origin
...5743. ub -- to becloud
... cover with a cloud. A primitive root; to bedense or dark, ie To becloud -- cover
with a cloud. 5742, 5743. ub. 5744 . Strong's Numbers.
7185. qashah -- to be hard, severe or fierce
... A primitive root; properly, to bedense, ie Tough or severe (in various applications) --
be cruel, be fiercer, make grievous, be ((ask a), be in, have, seem...
5687. aboth -- (having) interwoven (foliage), leafy
... thick. Or rabowth {aw-both'}; from abath; intwined, ieDense -- thick. see HEBREW
abath. 5686, 5687. aboth or aboth. 5688 . Strong's Numbers.
5666. abah -- to be thick, fat, or gross
... thicker (2). be grow thicker. A primitive root; to bedense -- be (grow)
thick(-er). 5665, 5666. abah. 5667 . Strong's Numbers.
Library
The Last Two Verses of Chapterviii. ...
... Darker and darker the cloud settles over his spirit; denser and still moredense
the fogs of helpless ignorance and perplexity enwrap his intelligence....
Answers to Prayer.
... Bessie was fourteen years old, her father sold the beautiful home where she had
spent so many happy days, and bought a tract of land in adense wood farther up...
The Fear Felt by the Inhabitants of Jerusalem.
... a breath of wind was stirring, yet both the doors and windows of the houses were
shaking as if in a storm, and the darkness was becoming every moment moredense...
A Strain of the Judgment of the Lord.
... Renew their sheen; and day dies with its light. Lost indense night; and now night
wanes herself.... 280 And withdense leaf gladsome amomum joins. Its fragrance....
Whence the Contentions of Philosophers have Sprung. Against those...
... to cross it and effect their safety, but keeps them down in its soil until they
meet their end; or they may be compared to men in a deep,dense, and majestic...
The Procession of Amen
... As yet there was nothing to be seen of the pageant, but thedense crowds far down
the highway swayed backward from the narrow path between them....
Letter xxxviii. To his Brother Gregory, Concerning the Difference...
... by persons skilled in such matters to be formed when a certain moisture is mingled
with the air, and the force of the winds expresses what isdense and moist...
Aubrey Leigh was a Man who had Chosen his Own Way of Life...
... A month or so later, one night when the blackness of the skies was sodense that
it could almost be felt, it chanced that he and his companions were far out at...
First Tractate.
... As for air " air unchanged, retaining its distinctive quality " how could it
conduce to the subsistence of adense material like earth?...
Letter viii. To the C??sareans. A Defence of his Withdrawal, and...
... ultimate object of desire. For even their knowledge, when compared with the
knowledge which is face to face, isdense. [1825] Only the...
Thesaurus
Dense (11 Occurrences)... Having the constituent parts massed or crowded together; close; compact; thick;
containing much matter in a small space; heavy; opaque; as, a
dense crowd; a
...Head (4291 Occurrences)
... 15. (n.) Adense cluster of flowers, as in clover, daisies, thistles; a capitulum....
(n.) Adense, compact mass of leaves, as in a cabbage or a lettuce plant....
Dens (10 Occurrences)
Oak (22 Occurrences)
... "It covers the rocky hills of Palestine with adense brushwood of trees from 8 to
12 feet high, branching from the base, thickly covered with small evergreen...
Jungle (4 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (n.) Adense growth of brushwood, grasses, reeds, vines,
etc.; an almost impenetrable thicket of trees, canes, and reedy vegetation...
Loose (219 Occurrences)
... with from or of. 3. (superl.) Not tight or close; as, a loose garment. 4. (superl.)
Notdense, close, compact, or crowded; as, a cloth of loose texture....
Loosen (8 Occurrences)
... 1. (vt) To make loose; to free from tightness, tension, firmness, or fixedness;
to make lessdense or compact; as, to loosen a string, or a knot; to loosen a...
Gum (3 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) Thedense tissues which invest the teeth,
and cover the adjacent parts of the jaws. 2. (vt) To...
Gross (12 Occurrences)
... vulgar, low, obscene, or impure. 5. (superl.) Thick;dense; not attenuated;
as, a gross medium. 6. (superl.) Great; palpable; serious...
Within (400 Occurrences)
... Matthew 6:23 but if your eyesight is bad, your whole body will be dark. If however
the very light within you is darkness, howdense must the darkness be!...
Resources
What is the significance of acacia wood in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgDid God use the "Big Bang" to create the universe? | GotQuestions.orgWhat were Admah and Zeboiim in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgDense: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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