Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical terms, "mode" is not a word explicitly found in the Scriptures, but it can be understood in the context of various practices, methods, or manners in which certain actions or rituals are performed. The concept of mode can be applied to several aspects of biblical life and worship, including music, prayer, and sacrificial offerings.
Mode in Worship and MusicMusic played a significant role in the worship practices of ancient Israel. The Psalms, often referred to as the hymnbook of the Bible, provide insight into the modes of musical expression used in worship. Instruments such as the harp, lyre, and cymbals were commonly used (
Psalm 150:3-5: "Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; praise Him with the harp and lyre. Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; praise Him with strings and flute. Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise Him with clashing cymbals"). The mode of music in worship was intended to glorify God and express the emotions of the worshippers, whether in joy, lament, or thanksgiving.
Mode in PrayerThe mode of prayer in the Bible varies, reflecting different postures and attitudes of the heart. Jesus taught His disciples to pray with sincerity and humility, avoiding vain repetitions (
Matthew 6:7: "And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard"). The mode of prayer can be seen in various forms, such as standing, kneeling, or prostrating, each reflecting a different aspect of reverence and submission to God. Daniel, for example, prayed on his knees three times a day (
Daniel 6:10: "Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before").
Mode in Sacrificial OfferingsThe Old Testament law prescribed specific modes for sacrificial offerings, each with its own significance and purpose. The mode of offering a burnt sacrifice, for instance, involved the complete consumption of the offering by fire, symbolizing total dedication to God (
Leviticus 1:9: "The entrails and legs must be washed with water, and the priest shall burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD"). Other offerings, such as peace offerings or sin offerings, had distinct modes of presentation and ritual, each reflecting different aspects of atonement, thanksgiving, or fellowship with God.
Mode in Teaching and ParablesJesus often used parables as a mode of teaching, conveying deep spiritual truths through simple accounts and analogies. This mode of instruction was effective in reaching diverse audiences, allowing those with open hearts to grasp the mysteries of the Kingdom of God (
Matthew 13:34: "Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable"). The mode of parabolic teaching required listeners to engage with the message actively, seeking understanding and application.
Mode in BaptismThe mode of baptism in the New Testament is typically associated with immersion, as seen in the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist (
Matthew 3:16: "As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him"). This mode symbolizes the believer's identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, representing a cleansing from sin and a new life in Him.
In summary, while the term "mode" itself is not directly mentioned in the Bible, the concept is evident in the various practices and expressions of faith throughout Scripture. Each mode serves to enhance the understanding and experience of worship, devotion, and obedience to God.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) Manner of doing or being; method; form; fashion; custom; way; style; as, the mode of speaking; the mode of dressing.
2. (n.) Prevailing popular custom; fashion, especially in the phrase the mode.
3. (n.) Variety; gradation; degree.
4. (n.) Any combination of qualities or relations, considered apart from the substance to which they belong, and treated as entities; more generally, condition, or state of being; manner or form of arrangement or manifestation; form, as opposed to matter.
5. (n.) The form in which the proposition connects the predicate and subject, whether by simple, contingent, or necessary assertion; the form of the syllogism, as determined by the quantity and quality of the constituent proposition; mood.
6. (n.) Same as Mood.
7. (n.) The scale as affected by the various positions in it of the minor intervals; as, the Dorian mode, the Ionic mode, etc., of ancient Greek music.
8. (n.) A kind of silk. See Alamode, n.
Greek
72. agoge -- a carrying away, leading, guiding... of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: agoge Phonetic Spelling: (ag-o-gay')
Short Definition: conduct Definition: a leading, guiding; hence:
mode of life
...4976. schema -- figure, shape
... outward appearance, form, shape. From the alternate of echo; a figure (as amode
or circumstance), ie (by implication) external condition -- fashion....
1258. dialektos -- speech, language
... language, tongue. From dialegomai; a (mode of) discourse, ie "dialect" -- language,
tongue. see GREEK dialegomai. (dialekto) -- 6 Occurrences. 1257, 1258....
5158. tropos -- a way, manner, fashion
... From the same as trope; a turn, ie (by implication)mode or style (especially with
preposition or relative prefix as adverb, like); figuratively, deportment or...
981. biosis -- manner of life
... manner of life. From bioo; living (properly, the act, by implication, themode) --
manner of life. see GREEK bioo. (biosin) -- 1 Occurrence. 980, 981....
4234. praxis -- a deed, function
... Feminine Transliteration: praxis Phonetic Spelling: (prax'-is) Short Definition:
an action, deeds, function Definition: (a) a doing, action,mode of action...
3598. hodos -- a way, road
... Apparently a primary word; a road; by implication, a progress (the route, act or
distance); figuratively, amode or means -- journey, (high-)way....
Strong's Hebrew
5401. nashaq -- to kiss... identical with nasaq, through the idea of fastening up; compare chazaq, chashaq);
to kiss, literally or figuratively (touch); also (as a
mode of attachment
...4941. mishpat -- judgment
... 2), judge (1), judged (1), judgment (62), judgments (40), just (4), justice (118),
justly (3), kind (1), manner (3), matters of justice (1),mode of life (1...
5157. nachal -- to get or take as a possession
... A primitive root; to inherit (as a (figurative)mode of descent), or (generally)
to occupy; causatively, to bequeath, or (generally) distribute, instate...
1870. derek -- way, road, distance, journey, manner
... From darak; a road (as trodden); figuratively, a course of life ormode of action,
often adverb -- along, away, because of, + by, conversation, custom, (east...
Library
Communion EighthMode
... Communion EighthMode. EighthMode Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine: Cum sanctis
tuis in aeternum, quia pius es. V. Requiem aeternam...
Graduale SecondMode
... Graduale SecondMode. SecondMode Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine: et lux perpetua
luceat eis. In memoria aeterna erit justus: ab auditione mala non timebit....
Tractus EighthMode
... Tractus EighthMode. EighthMode Absolve, Domine, animas omnium fidelium
defunctorum ab omni vinculo delictorum. V. Et gratia tua...
Whether the Essence of Goodness Consists inMode, Species and...
... OF GOODNESS IN GENERAL (SIX ARTICLES) Whether the essence of goodness consists
inmode, species and order? Objection 1: It seems...
Whether Privation ofMode, Species and Order is the Effect of Sin?
... OF THE EFFECTS OF SIN, AND, FIRST, OF THE CORRUPTION OF THE GOOD OF NATURE (SIX
ARTICLES) Whether privation ofmode, species and order is the effect of sin?...
TheMode of Emanation of Things from the First Principle (Eight...
... THEMODE OF EMANATION OF THINGS FROM THE FIRST PRINCIPLE (EIGHT ARTICLES).
The next question concerns themode of the emanation of...
Of theMode of Union of the Word Incarnate (Twelve Articles)
... OF THEMODE OF UNION OF THE WORD INCARNATE (TWELVE ARTICLES). Now we must
consider themode of union of the Incarnate Word; and, first...
Whether Privation ofMode, Species, and Order is the Effect of Sin
... Article Four Whether Privation ofMode, Species, and Order is the Effect of Sin.
Whether Privation ofMode, Species, and Order is the Effect of Sin...
Of theMode of Union on the Part of the Human Nature (Six Articles...
... OF THEMODE OF UNION ON THE PART OF THE HUMAN NATURE (SIX ARTICLES). We must
now consider the union on the part of what was assumed....
Of theMode of Union on the Part of the Person Assuming (Eight...
... OF THEMODE OF UNION ON THE PART OF THE PERSON ASSUMING (EIGHT ARTICLES).
We must now consider the union on the part of the Person...
Thesaurus
Mode (5 Occurrences)... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) Manner of doing or being; method; form; fashion;
custom; way; style; as, the
mode of speaking; the
mode of dressing.
...Style (5 Occurrences)
... 9. (vt)Mode of expressing thought in language, whether oral or written; especially,
such use of language in the expression of thought as exhibits the spirit...
Fasting (34 Occurrences)
... Robertson Smith in his Religion of the Semites advanced and defended theory that
fasting was merely amode of preparation for the tribal meal in which...
Fashion (24 Occurrences)
... 1. (n.) The make or form of anything; the style, shape, appearance, ormode of
structure; pattern, model; as, the fashion of the ark, of a coat, of a house, of...
Manner (351 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.)Mode of action; way of performing or effecting
anything; method; style; form; fashion. 2. (n.) Characteristic...
Person (807 Occurrences)
... also that in making this great affirmation concerning our Lord, Paul does not throw
it distinctively into the past, as if he were describing amode of being...
Way (7551 Occurrences)
... 7. (n.) Manner; method;mode; fashion; style; as, the way of expressing
one's ideas. 8. (n.) Regular course; habitual method of...
Feet (2931 Occurrences)
... (1) TheMode. In... them. At present the "SingleMode" is almost universal, wherein
each communicant washes and wipes the feet of another....
Form (153 Occurrences)
... external appearance. 3. (n.) Constitution;mode of construction, organization,
etc.; system; as, a republican form of government. 4. (n...
Eternity (23 Occurrences)
... Contrast with Time: Eternity is best conceived, not in the merely negative form
of the non-temporal, or immeasurable time, but positively, as themode of the...
Resources
What is the proper mode of baptism? | GotQuestions.orgWhat does the Bible say about how to get baptized / how to baptize? | GotQuestions.orgQuestions about the Church (All) | GotQuestions.orgMode: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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