Topical Encyclopedia
The concept of "flourish" in the Bible is often associated with growth, prosperity, and the blessings of God. It is a term that conveys the idea of thriving and being fruitful, both spiritually and materially. The imagery of flourishing is frequently used in Scripture to describe the righteous, the faithful, and the work of God in the lives of His people.
Biblical Imagery and Symbolism1.
Trees and Plants: One of the most common biblical images of flourishing is that of trees and plants. In
Psalm 92:12-13 , it is written, "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God." Here, the palm tree and cedar symbolize strength, longevity, and beauty, indicating that those who are righteous will experience a similar flourishing in their lives.
2.
Water and Rivers: Flourishing is also depicted through the imagery of water, which is essential for growth. In
Jeremiah 17:7-8 , the prophet declares, "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit." This passage highlights the stability and continuous growth of those who trust in God, even in adverse conditions.
3.
Fruitfulness: The idea of bearing fruit is closely linked to flourishing. In
John 15:5 , Jesus says, "I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing." This metaphor emphasizes the necessity of abiding in Christ to experience true spiritual flourishing and fruitfulness.
Spiritual and Material ProsperityFlourishing in the Bible is not limited to physical or material prosperity but extends to spiritual well-being.
Proverbs 11:28 states, "He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf." This verse contrasts the fleeting nature of material wealth with the enduring prosperity of the righteous, who are likened to a green leaf that remains vibrant and alive.
God's Blessings and FavorThe flourishing of individuals and nations is often attributed to the blessings and favor of God. In
Deuteronomy 28:11 , God promises Israel, "The LORD will make you prosper abundantly—in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land—in the land the LORD swore to your fathers to give you." This promise of abundance is contingent upon obedience to God's commandments, illustrating the connection between divine favor and flourishing.
Eternal PerspectiveWhile flourishing can be experienced in this life, the Bible also points to an eternal perspective. In
Psalm 1:3 , the righteous person is described as "a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does." This imagery not only speaks to present blessings but also to the eternal flourishing that comes from a life rooted in God's Word.
In summary, the biblical concept of flourishing encompasses both spiritual and material dimensions, rooted in a relationship with God and characterized by growth, fruitfulness, and divine blessing.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
v. i.) To grow luxuriantly; to increase and enlarge, as a healthy growing plant; a thrive.
2. (v. i.) To be prosperous; to increase in wealth, honor, comfort, happiness, or whatever is desirable; to thrive; to be prominent and influential; specifically, of authors, painters, etc., to be in a state of activity or production.
3. (v. i.) To use florid language; to indulge in rhetorical figures and lofty expressions; to be flowery.
4. (v. i.) To make bold and sweeping, fanciful, or wanton movements, by way of ornament, parade, bravado, etc.; to play with fantastic and irregular motion.
5. (v. i.) To make ornamental strokes with the pen; to write graceful, decorative figures.
6. (v. i.) To execute an irregular or fanciful strain of music, by way of ornament or prelude.
7. (v. i.) To boast; to vaunt; to brag.
8. (v. t.) To adorn with flowers or beautiful figures, either natural or artificial; to ornament with anything showy; to embellish.
9. (v. t.) To embellish with the flowers of diction; to adorn with rhetorical figures; to grace with ostentatious eloquence; to set off with a parade of words.
10. (v. t.) To move in bold or irregular figures; to swing about in circles or vibrations by way of show or triumph; to brandish.
11. (v. t.) To develop; to make thrive; to expand.
12. (n.) A flourishing condition; prosperity; vigor.
13. (n.) Decoration; ornament; beauty.
14. (n.) Something made or performed in a fanciful, wanton, or vaunting manner, by way of ostentation, to excite admiration, etc.; ostentatious embellishment; ambitious copiousness or amplification; parade of words and figures; show; as, a flourish of rhetoric or of wit.
15. (n.) A fanciful stroke of the pen or graver; a merely decorative figure.
16. (n.) A fantastic or decorative musical passage; a strain of triumph or bravado, not forming part of a regular musical composition; a cal; a fanfare.
17. (n.) The waving of a weapon or other thing; a brandishing; as, the flourish of a sword.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
FLOURISHflur'-ish (parach, tsuts; anathallo):
The translation of parach, "to break forth" (Psalm 72:7;Psalm 92:12, 13Proverbs 14:11Isaiah 66:14Songs 6:11;Songs 7:12; the Revised Version (British and American) "budded"); of tsuts "to bloom" (Psalm 72:16, 90:6;Psalm 92:7;Psalm 103:15; 132:18); ra`anan, "green," "fresh," is translated "flourishing" inPsalm 92:14, the Revised Version (British and American) "green," and ra`anan, Aramaic inDaniel 4:4; nubh, "to sprout" (Zechariah 9:17, the King James Version "cheerful").
In an interesting passage (Ecclesiastes 12:5 the King James Version), the Hiphil future of na'ats, meaning properly "to pierce or strike," hence, to slight or reject, is translated "flourish"; it is said of the old man "The almond tree shall flourish," the Revised Version (British and American) "blossom" (so Ewald, Delitzsch, etc.); na'ats has nowhere else this meaning; it is frequently rendered "contemn;" "despise," etc. Other renderings are, "shall cause loathing" (Gesenius, Knobel, etc.), "shall be despised," i.e. the hoary head; "The almond tree shall shake off its flowers," the silvery hairs falling like the fading white flowers of the almond tree; by others it is taken to indicate "sleeplessness," the name of the almond tree (shaqedh) meaning the watcher or early riser (compareJeremiah 1:11, "a rod of an almond-tree," literally, "a wakeful (or early) tree"), the almond being the first of the trees to wake from the sleep of winter.
SeeALMOND.
"Flourish" appears once only in the New Testament, in the King James Version, as translation of anathallo, "to put forth anew," or "to make put forth anew" (Philippians 4:10): "Your care for me hath flourished again," the Revised Version (British and American) "Ye have revived your thought for me."
W. L. Walker
Greek
330. anathallo -- to revive... to revive. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: anathallo Phonetic Spelling:
(an-ath-al'-lo) Short Definition: I thrive or
flourish again Definition: I thrive
...Strong's Hebrew
6524. parach -- to bud, sprout, shoot... abroad, abundantly, blossom, break forth out, bud,
flourish, make fly,
grow, A primitive root; to break forth as a bud, ie Bloom
...5107. nub -- to bear fruit
... 5106, 5107. nub. 5108 . to bear fruit. Transliteration: nub Phonetic Spelling:
(noob) Short Definition:flourish. Word Origin a prim....
6692. tsuwts -- to blossom, shine, sparkle
... tsuwts. 6692a . to blossom, shine, sparkle. Transliteration: tsuwts Phonetic Spelling:
(tsoots) Short Definition: bloom. bloom, blossom,flourish, show self...
5006. naats -- to spurn, treat with contempt
... 3), spurned (8), spurns (1). abhor, give occasion to blaspheme, contemn,
despise,flourish, great, provoke. A primitive root; to...
6524a. parach -- to bud, sprout, shoot
... 6524, 6524a. parach. 6524b . to bud, sprout, shoot. Transliteration:
parach Short Definition:flourish. Word Origin a prim. root...
6692a. tsuts -- to blossom, shine, sparkle
... root Definition to blossom, shine, sparkle NASB Word Usage blossom (1), budded
(1),flourish (1), flourished (1), flourishes (2), produced blossoms (1), shine...
Library
Let us Get up Early to the vineyards; Let us See if the vine...
... Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vineflourish, if the flowers
bring forth fruit, and the pomegranate has blossomed; there will I give...
Improvement
... SERMON XVIII. IMPROVEMENT. PSALM xcii.12. "The righteous shallflourish like
the palm-tree: he shall grow like the cedar in Lebanon....
But that You May not Suppose this to be a Novel Doctrine Peculiar...
... But if its root have waxed old in the earth, and the stock thereof be dead in the
dust, yet through the scent of water it willflourish again, and put forth...
February 11 Evening
... I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried
up the green tree, and have made the dry tree toflourish....
Psalm LIV.
... 3. These men sometimes are observed of the weak sons of light, and their feet totter,
when they have seen evil men in felicity toflourish, and they say to...
The General Service to one Martyr.
... undying theology. The Versicle : The righteous shallflourish like the
palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Raised...
Psalm XCII.
... works: Thy thoughts are made very deep" (ver.5). Verily, my brethren, there is no
sea so deep as these thoughts of God, who maketh the wickedflourish, and the...
The Disciple, -- Sometimes this Question is Asked, "Since God is...
... destructive. The sun by its light and heat makes all vegetable things to
live andflourish, and also causes them to wither and die....
The Relation of Home to the Church.
... Like the church, it rises superior to all the fluctuations of civil society, and
will live andflourish in all its tender charities, in all its sweet enjoyments...
The General Service to one Hieromartyr
... worthy of bliss. The Versicle: The righteous shallflourish like the
palm-tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Bound with...
Thesaurus
Flourish (26 Occurrences)... to excite admiration, etc.; ostentatious embellishment; ambitious copiousness or
amplification; parade of words and figures; show; as, a
flourish of rhetoric
...Flourished (8 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (imp. & pp) ofFlourish. Multi-Version Concordance
Flourished (8 Occurrences). Philippians 4:10 But I rejoiced...
Thrive (11 Occurrences)
... 3. (vi) To increase in bulk or stature; to grow vigorously or luxuriantly, as a
plant; toflourish; as, young cattle thrive in rich pastures; trees thrive in a...
Brandish (4 Occurrences)
... 1. (v.) To move or wave, as a weapon; as to brandish a shotgun; to shake orflourish.
2. (n.) To play with; toflourish; as, to brandish syllogisms....
Blossom (23 Occurrences)
... 4. (n.) To put forth blossoms or flowers; to bloom; to blow; to flower. 5. (n.)
Toflourish and prosper. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. BLOOM; BLOSSOM....
Sycomore (3 Occurrences)
... It is a tree which cannotflourish in the cooler mountain heights; it cannot
stand frost (Psalm 78:47). It was one of the distinguishing...
Garden (68 Occurrences)
... there is no rain during 4 or 5 months, at least, of the year, the gardens are often
the only spots where trees and other vegetation canflourish, and here the...
Tree (245 Occurrences)
... 1 Kings 6:29, 32, 35; 1 Kings 7:36 2 Chronicles 3:5). It is a symbol of beauty
(Songs 7:7) and of the righteous man: "The righteous shallflourish like the palm...
Crop (33 Occurrences)
... the vineyard. (See RSV NIV). Job 14:9 From the fragrance of water it doth
flourish, And hath made a crop as a plant. (YLT). Job 18...
Abound (36 Occurrences)
... (See NAS RSV NIV). Psalms 72:7 In his days, the righteous shallflourish, and
abundance of peace, until the moon is no more. (See RSV NIV)....
Resources
What is the problem of good? | GotQuestions.orgWhat are the five love languages? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is Unitarianism? | GotQuestions.orgFlourish: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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