Topical Encyclopedia
The term "sever" in the biblical context generally refers to the act of separating, dividing, or setting apart. This concept is found throughout the Scriptures, often illustrating God's actions in distinguishing between people, nations, or spiritual states. The idea of severing is closely associated with God's holiness, judgment, and covenantal relationships.
Old Testament UsageIn the Old Testament, the Hebrew word often translated as "sever" is "בדל" (badal), which means to divide or separate. One of the most notable uses of this term is found in the book of Leviticus, where God instructs the Israelites to be distinct from other nations.
Leviticus 20:24-26 states, "But I have said to you, 'You will inherit their land, and I will give it to you as a possession, a land flowing with milk and honey.' I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from the peoples. You are therefore to distinguish between clean and unclean animals and birds; do not defile yourselves by any animal or bird or anything that moves along the ground that I have set apart as unclean for you. You are to be holy to Me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be My own."
This passage highlights the concept of severing as a divine act of sanctification, where God separates His people for a holy purpose. The Israelites were to live according to God's laws, which served as a means of distinguishing them from other nations.
New Testament UsageIn the New Testament, the concept of severing is often related to spiritual separation and judgment. Jesus uses the imagery of separation in His parables to describe the final judgment. In
Matthew 13:49 , Jesus explains, "So will it be at the end of the age: The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous."
This separation underscores the ultimate division between those who belong to God and those who do not. It reflects the eschatological reality of God's kingdom, where a clear distinction is made between the redeemed and the unredeemed.
Theological ImplicationsTheologically, the concept of severing is significant in understanding God's holiness and justice. God's act of severing is not arbitrary but is rooted in His righteous character. It serves as a reminder of the call to holiness for believers, who are to be distinct from the world. As
2 Corinthians 6:17 exhorts, "Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."
Furthermore, the idea of severing is integral to the doctrine of sanctification. Believers are set apart by God through the work of the Holy Spirit, who empowers them to live lives that reflect God's holiness. This separation is both positional, as believers are declared holy in Christ, and progressive, as they grow in holiness throughout their lives.
Practical ApplicationIn practical terms, the biblical concept of severing calls Christians to live lives that are distinct from the world. This involves a commitment to God's standards of righteousness and a rejection of worldly values and practices. It is a call to be in the world but not of it, maintaining a witness that points others to the transformative power of the Gospel.
The concept of severing also encourages believers to examine their lives for areas that may need to be set apart for God. This could involve severing ties with sinful habits, relationships, or influences that hinder spiritual growth. By doing so, Christians can more fully experience the abundant life that God intends for His people.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
v. t.) To separate, as one from another; to cut off from something; to divide; to part in any way, especially by violence, as by cutting, rending, etc.; as, to sever the head from the body.
2. (v. t.) To cut or break open or apart; to divide into parts; to cut through; to disjoin; as, to sever the arm or leg.
3. (v. t.) To keep distinct or apart; to except; to exempt.
4. (v. t.) To disunite; to disconnect; to terminate; as, to sever an estate in joint tenancy.
5. (v. i.) To suffer disjunction; to be parted, or rent asunder; to be separated; to part; to separate.
6. (v. i.) To make a separation or distinction; to distinguish.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
SEVERsev'-er: The three Hebrew words badhal, palah and paradh are thus translated. The idea conveyed is that of setting apart (Leviticus 20:26 the King James Version) or of setting someone or something apart in a miraculous way (Exodus 8:22;Exodus 9:4 the King James Version, the English Revised Version), or, again, of simple separation on one's own volition (Judges 4:11 the King James Version, the English Revised Version). The Greek word aphorizo (Matthew 13:49) stands for final judicial segregation.
Greek
2673. katargeo -- to render inoperative, abolish... abolish. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: katargeo Phonetic Spelling:
(kat-arg-eh'-o) Short Definition: I bring to naught,
sever, abolish Definition: (
...873. aphorizo -- to mark off by boundaries from, ie set apart
... divide, separate,sever. From apo and horizo; to set off by boundary, ie (figuratively)
limit, exclude, appoint, etc. -- divide, separate,sever....
3499. nekroo -- to put to death
... to view as a corpse, ie without life; (but not "make") , ; to mortify, deprive of
life or energizing power; (figuratively) to cut off (sever) everything that...
1288. diaspao -- to draw apart, tear asunder
... pluck asunder, tear apart. From dia and spao; to draw apart, ieSever or dismember --
pluck asunder, pull in pieces. see GREEK dia. see GREEK spao....
4977. schizo -- to cleave, split
... split, divide, rend. Apparently a primary verb; to split orsever (literally
or figuratively) -- break, divide, open, rend, make a rent....
Strong's Hebrew
6395. palah -- to be separated or distinct... separate, set apart,
sever. A primitive root; to distinguish (literally or
figuratively) -- put a difference, show marvellous, separate
...6504. parad -- to divide
... disperse, divide, be out of joint, part, scatter abroad, separate self,sever
self, stretch,. A primitive root; to break through, ie...
914. badal -- to be divided, separate
... a distinction (3), partition (1), selected (1), separate (6), separated (10), serve
(1), set you apart (1), set apart (6), set aside (2),sever (2), single (1...
3363. yaqa -- to be dislocated or alienated
... A primitive root; properly, tosever oneself, ie (by implication) to be dislocated;
figuratively, to abandon; causatively, to impale (and thus allow to drop to...
2686. chatsats -- to divide
... A primitive root (compare chatsah); properly, to chop into, pierce orsever;
hence, to curtail, to distribute (into ranks); as denom....
8432. tavek -- midst
... From an unused root meaning tosever; a bisection, ie (by implication) the centre --
among(-st), X between, half, X (there-,where-), in(-to), middle, mid(-night...
6299. padah -- to ransom
... deliver, by any means, ransom, that are to be, let be redeemed, rescue,
surely. A primitive root; tosever, ie Ransom; gener. To...
2351. chuts -- the outside, a street
... Or (shortened) chuts {khoots}; (both forms feminine in the plural) from an unused
root meaning tosever; properly, separate by a wall, ie Outside, outdoors...
Library
A Rest Here have I Never. --Ps. cxix.
... my proper home; When my life's end is gained, Then forth from it I'll come, What
here I've needed ever I'll put it all away; When soul and bodysever, Me in...
Concerning the Number of the Natures.
... Footnotes: [1993] Leont., Resp. ad argum.Sever.... [1995] oikonomias, incarnation.
[1996] Leont., Resp. ad argum.Sever. [1997] See Leont., Act....
The Mystery of the Lord's Incarnation Clearly Implies the Divinity...
... importance His answer applied to greater and deeper matters, when he said, "What
God hath joined together, let not man put asunder," ie, Do notsever what God...
Guiltless and Without Sin.
... By saying, "The Mediator is conceived and born in our nature, as it was before the
fall," wesever the fellowship between Him and us; and by allowing that He...
How Friendship is Indissoluble.
... This, I say, is what is broken by no chances, what no interval of time or space
cansever or destroy, and what even death itself cannot part....
As to Know the Father and the Son is Life...
... If the knowledge of the only true God confers the same benefit as the knowledge
of the Son and of the Spirit, why do yousever the Son and the Spirit from the...
Autumn. Double.
... 8s & 7s. Double. Union with Jesus. (700) In thy service will I ever, Jesus, my Redeemer,
stay; Nothing me from thee shallsever, Gladly would I go thy way....
He Explains what it Means to Confess, and what it Means to...
... "Every one who dissolves Jesus is not of God." But to dissolve Him is to try to
rend asunder what is united in Jesus; and tosever what is but one and...
Whether Tale-Bearing is a Sin Distinct from Backbiting?
... especially about his neighbor which are likely to defame him, or at least to depreciate
his good name: whereas a tale-bearer intends tosever friendship, as...
Whether it is Necessary to Proceed by Way of Accusation for the...
... Objection 1: It would seem that one ought not to proceed by way of accusation in
order tosever a marriage contracted between persons related by affinity or...
Thesaurus
Sever (6 Occurrences)... as one from another; to cut off from something; to divide; to part in any way,
especially by violence, as by cutting, rending, etc.; as, to
sever the head from
...Cut (616 Occurrences)
... 1. (imp. & pp) of Cut. 2. (vt) To separate the parts of with, or as with, a sharp
instrument; to make an incision in; to gash; tosever; to divide....
Shear (5 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (vt) To cut, clip, orsever anything from with shears
or a like instrument; as, to shear sheep; to shear cloth....
Severing (2 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (p. pr. & vb. n.) ofSever. Multi-Version
Concordance Severing (2 Occurrences). Leviticus 1:17 He shall...
Several (40 Occurrences)
Nip (1 Occurrence)
... bring them to the priest, who shall first offer the one which is for the sin offering,
and wring off its head from its neck, but shall notsever it completely....
Wring (4 Occurrences)
... bring them to the priest, who shall first offer the one which is for the sin offering,
and wring off its head from its neck, but shall notsever it completely....
Thus (1271 Occurrences)
... (DBY). Matthew 13:49 Thus shall it be in the completion of the age: the angels shall
go forth andsever the wicked from the midst of the just, (DBY)....
Divide (71 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (vt) To part asunder (a whole); tosever into two
or more parts or pieces; to sunder; to separate into parts....
Midst (657 Occurrences)
... Matthew 13:49 Thus shall it be in the completion of the age: the angels shall go
forth andsever the wicked from the midst of the just, (DBY YLT)....
Resources
Did Jesus mean we should literally pluck out our eyes and cut off our hands in Matthew 5:29-30 and 18:8-9? | GotQuestions.orgWhat does it mean that the wages of sin is death? | GotQuestions.orgWhat does it mean to 'fall from grace' (Galatians 5:4)? | GotQuestions.orgSever: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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