Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical terms, the concept of "split" can be understood in various contexts, including physical divisions, spiritual separations, and metaphorical distinctions. The Bible provides numerous instances where the idea of splitting or dividing plays a significant role in the narrative or teaching.
1.
Physical Divisions:·
The Red Sea: One of the most dramatic instances of a physical split in the Bible is the parting of the Red Sea. In
Exodus 14:21-22 , it is recorded, "Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left." This miraculous event allowed the Israelites to escape from the pursuing Egyptian army, symbolizing God's deliverance and power.
·
The Jordan River: Another significant division occurs when the Israelites cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land.
Joshua 3:16 states, "The waters flowing downstream stood still, rising up in a mass that extended as far as Adam, a city near Zarethan. The waters flowing downstream into the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) were completely cut off, and the people crossed over opposite Jericho." This event marks the fulfillment of God's promise to give the land to the descendants of Abraham.
2.
Spiritual Separations:·
The Division of Israel: The kingdom of Israel experienced a significant split after the reign of Solomon, resulting in the formation of two separate kingdoms: Israel in the north and Judah in the south. This division is chronicled in
1 Kings 12, where Rehoboam's harsh policies lead to the northern tribes breaking away under Jeroboam's leadership. This split had profound spiritual and political implications, as it led to divergent worship practices and eventual exile.
·
The Wheat and the Tares: In the New Testament, Jesus uses the parable of the wheat and the tares to illustrate the final separation of the righteous from the wicked.
Matthew 13:30 records Jesus saying, "Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters, 'First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.'" This parable emphasizes the ultimate judgment and the distinction between those who belong to the kingdom of God and those who do not.
3.
Metaphorical Distinctions:·
The Word of God:Hebrews 4:12 describes the Word of God as a tool for division: "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart." This metaphorical split highlights the discerning power of Scripture to separate truth from falsehood and to reveal the innermost thoughts and intentions of individuals.
·
The Sword of Division: Jesus speaks of bringing division rather than peace in
Matthew 10:34-36 : "Do not assume that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'" This passage underscores the divisive nature of the gospel, as allegiance to Christ may cause rifts even within families.
In summary, the concept of "split" in the Bible encompasses a range of meanings, from miraculous physical separations to profound spiritual and metaphorical distinctions. These instances serve to illustrate God's power, the fulfillment of His promises, and the transformative impact of His Word and kingdom.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
imp. & p. p.) of Split.
2. (v. t.) To divide lengthwise; to separate from end to end, esp. by force; to divide in the direction of the grain layers; to rive; to cleave; as, to split a piece of timber or a board; to split a gem; to split a sheepskin.
3. (v. t.) To burst; to rupture; to rend; to tear asunder.
4. (v. t.) To divide or break up into parts or divisions, as by discord; to separate into parts or parties, as a political party; to disunite.
5. (v. t.) To divide or separate into components; -- often used with up; as, to split up sugar into alcohol and carbonic acid.
6. (v. i.) To part asunder; to be rent; to burst; as, vessels split by the freezing of water in them.
7. (v. i.) To be broken; to be dashed to pieces.
8. (v. i.) To separate into parties or factions.
9. (v. i.) To burst with laughter.
10. (v. i.) To divulge a secret; to betray confidence; to peach.
11. (v. i.) to divide one hand of blackjack into two hands, allowed when the first two cards dealt to a player have the same value.
12. (n.) A crack, or longitudinal fissure.
13. (n.) A breach or separation, as in a political party; a division.
14. (n.) A piece that is split off, or made thin, by splitting; a splinter; a fragment.
15. (n.) Specif (Leather Manuf.), one of the sections of a skin made by dividing it into two or more thicknesses.
16. (n.) A division of a stake happening when two cards of the kind on which the stake is laid are dealt in the same turn.
17. (n.) the substitution of more than one share of a corporation's stock for one share. The market price of the stock usually drops in proportion to the increase in outstanding shares of stock. The split may be in any ratio, as a two-for-one split; a three-for-two split.
18. (n.) the division by a player of one hand of blackjack into two hands, allowed when the first two cards dealt to a player have the same value; the player is usually obliged to increase the amount wagered by placing a sum equal to the original bet on the new hand thus created.
19. (a.) Divided; cleft.
20. (a.) Divided deeply; cleft.
Greek
4977. schizo -- to cleave,split... to cleave,
split. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: schizo Phonetic Spelling:
(skhid'-zo) Short Definition: I rend, divide asunder Definition: I rend
...4978. schisma -- asplit, fig. division
... 4977, 4978. schisma. 4979 . asplit, fig.... Word Origin from schizo Definition
asplit, fig. division NASB Word Usage division (4), divisions (2), tear (2)....
1096. ginomai -- to come into being, to happen, to become
... 3), occurred (18), performed (4), prove (7), proved (6), proving (1), put (1), reached
(2), realized (1), results (2), show (1), spent (1),split (1), spoken (1...
1282. diaprio -- to saw asunder, cut to the heart
... the way through; (figuratively) emotionally "sawn asunder," as when the heart is
"ripped in two" ("cut to the quick") -- ie when a person is "split down the...
823. atomos -- uncut, indivisible, (an indivisible) moment (of...
... 823 (from 1 "not" and 5114 , "to cut") -- properly, able to (divide) because to
be measured, like a "split second"; an "; an moment of time, too short to...
673. apochorizo -- to separate, part asunder
... Word Origin from apo and chorizo Definition to separate, part asunder NASB Word
Usage separated (1),split apart (1). to depart, to separate....
1374. dipsuchos -- of two minds, wavering
... 1374 (an adjective, derived from 1364 , "two" and 5590 , "soul") -- properly, "two
souled"; (figuratively) "double-minded," ie a person "split in half...
Strong's Hebrew
6480. patsam -- tosplit open... to
split open. Transliteration: patsam Phonetic Spelling: (paw-tsam') Short Definition:
open.
... root Definition to
split open NASB Word Usage
split it open (1).
...6565b. parar -- tosplit, divide
... tosplit, divide. Transliteration: parar Short Definition: divided.... root Definition
tosplit, divide NASB Word Usage divided (1),split through (1)....
6385. palag -- tosplit, divide
... 6384b, 6385. palag. 6386 . tosplit, divide. Transliteration: palag Phonetic
Spelling: (paw-lag') Short Definition: divided. Word Origin a prim....
8156. shasa -- to divide, cleave
... 8155, 8156. shasa. 8157 . to divide, cleave. Transliteration: shasa Phonetic
Spelling: (shaw-sah') Short Definition:split. Word Origin a prim....
1234. baqa -- to cleave, break open or through
... 1233, 1234. baqa. 1235 . to cleave, break open or through. Transliteration:
baqa Phonetic Spelling: (baw-kah') Short Definition:split. Word Origin a prim....
8182. shoar -- horrid, disgusting
... 8181, 8182. shoar. 8183 . horrid, disgusting. Transliteration: shoar
Phonetic Spelling: (sho-awr') Short Definition:split-open....
2672. chatsab -- to hew, hew out, cleave
... Or chatseb {khaw-tsabe'}; a primitive root; to cut or carve (wood), stone or other
material); by implication, to hew,split, square, quarry, engrave -- cut, dig...
1237. biqah -- a valley, plain
... plain, valley. From baqa'; properly, asplit, ie A wide level valley between mountains
-- plain, valley. see HEBREW baqa'. 1236, 1237. biqah. 1238 ....
6536. paras -- to break in two, divide
... A primitive root; to break in pieces, ie (usually without violence) tosplit,
distribute -- deal, divide, have hoofs, part, tear. 6535, 6536. paras. 6537 ....
7167. qara -- to tear
... root Definition to tear NASB Word Usage cut (2), enlarge (1), rend (3), slandered
(1),split apart (2), surely tear (1), tear (7), tear apart (1), tear away (1...
Library
How toSplit a Kingdom
... THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS HOW TOSPLIT A KINGDOM. And Rehoboam went to Shechem:
for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king...
The Welter, 1415-1434.
... as Hus was alive in the flesh, he was able to command the loyalty of the people;
but now that his tongue was silent for ever, his followerssplit into many...
The Power that Never Fails.
... But sometimes this fails tosplit the rock.... It takes longer than with iron wedges
and sledge, but after a while the rock yields and liessplit wide-open....
Rhodo and his Account of the Dissension of Marcion.
... Although the different Marcionites held various theoretical beliefs, which gave
rise to different schools, yet they did notsplit up into sects, but remained...
A Letter from a West Indian Cottage Ornee
... up by a semi-cylindrical balk of timber, furry inside, which would puzzle a Hampshire
woodsman; for it is, plainly, a groo-groo or a coco-palm,split down the...
The Conservative Reaction, and the Liberal victory --
... Keltic race. Theysplit the congregation in Corinth into several parties
and caused the apostle the deepest anxiety. In Colossae...
There is a Definite Moment at which the Seed is Ripe...
... knocks off and tosses away the dainty shutde-cocks of the scabious as they ripen
one by one, and the pods wait for the hot touch of the sun tosplit them with...
Expositions of Holy Scripture
... A ROYAL SEEKER AFTER WISDOM. THE FALL OF SOLOMON. THE NEW GARMENT BENT. HOW TO
SPLIT A KINGDOM. POLITICAL RELIGION. THE RECORD OF TWO KINGS....
The First Chaldaean Empire and the Hyksos in Egypt
... They tend to becomesplit up into numerous rival communities, of which even the
pettiest will aim at autonomy, keeping up a perpetual frontier war for the sake...
A Question for a Questioner
... truth. Truth is like those crystals which, whensplit up into the smallest
possible fragments, still retain their natural form....
Thesaurus
Split (36 Occurrences)... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (imp. & pp) of
Split. 2. (vt) To divide
lengthwise; to separate from end to end, esp. by force; to
...Split-open (1 Occurrence)
Split-open.Split,Split-open. Splits . Multi-Version Concordance
Split-open (1 Occurrence). Jeremiah 29:17 thus says...
Hoofs (18 Occurrences)
... Hoofs (18 Occurrences). Leviticus 11:3 Whatever hath cloven hoofs, and feet quite
split open, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts that shall ye eat....
Quite (55 Occurrences)
... (KJV WBS). Leviticus 11:3 Whatever hath cloven hoofs, and feet quitesplit open,
and cheweth the cud, among the beasts that shall ye eat. (DBY)....
Cleft (15 Occurrences)
... 2. (pp) of Cleave. 3. (v.) imp. & pp from Cleave. 4. (a.) Divided;split; partly
divided orsplit. 5. (a.) Incised nearly to the midrib; as, a cleft leaf....
Splinter (5 Occurrences)
... 1. (n.) Tosplit or rend into long, thin pieces; to shiver; as, the lightning
splinters a tree.... 3. (vi) To becomesplit into long pieces....
Rend (35 Occurrences)
... 1. (vt) To separate into parts with force or sudden violence; to tear asunder; to
split; to burst; as, powder rends a rock in blasting; lightning rends an oak....
Pig (4 Occurrences)
... (BBE). Leviticus 11:7 The pig, because he has asplit hoof, and is cloven-footed,
but doesn't chew the cud, he is unclean to you. (WEB BBE NAS NIV)....
Parties (13 Occurrences)
... about fifty each." (WEY). Luke 12:52 For from this time there will be in
one house five personssplit into parties. Three will form a...
Cud (9 Occurrences)
... Leviticus 11:7 The pig, because he has asplit hoof, and is cloven-footed,
but doesn't chew the cud, he is unclean to you. (WEB...
Resources
What is the cause of church splits? How can healing occur after a church split? | GotQuestions.orgWhat was the Synod of Dort? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the Ethiopian Orthodox Church? | GotQuestions.orgSplit: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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