Topical Encyclopedia
The term "unintelligible" refers to something that cannot be understood or comprehended. In the context of the Bible, this concept can be applied to various passages, languages, or spiritual truths that are difficult to grasp without divine revelation or interpretation.
Biblical Languages and InterpretationThe Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. For many readers, these languages are unintelligible without translation. The need for interpretation is highlighted in
Nehemiah 8:8, where the Levites read from the Book of the Law and gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. This underscores the importance of making Scripture intelligible to its audience.
Speaking in TonguesThe New Testament discusses the gift of speaking in tongues, which can be unintelligible to those without the gift of interpretation. In
1 Corinthians 14:2, Paul writes, "For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries in the Spirit." Paul emphasizes the need for interpretation to edify the church, as seen in
1 Corinthians 14:27-28: "If anyone speaks in a tongue, two, or at most three, should speak in turn, and someone must interpret. But if there is no interpreter, he should remain silent in the church and speak only to himself and God."
Parables and MysteriesJesus often spoke in parables, which were sometimes unintelligible to those who heard them without spiritual insight. In
Matthew 13:10-11, the disciples asked Jesus why He spoke to the people in parables. He replied, "The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them." This indicates that understanding spiritual truths requires divine revelation.
Prophetic Visions and DreamsProphetic visions and dreams in the Bible can also be unintelligible without interpretation. Daniel, for example, was given the ability to interpret dreams and visions that were otherwise incomprehensible. In
Daniel 2:27-28, Daniel tells King Nebuchadnezzar, "No wise man, enchanter, magician, or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries."
Divine Wisdom and Human UnderstandingThe Bible acknowledges the limitations of human understanding when it comes to divine wisdom. In
Isaiah 55:8-9, God declares, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways... As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." This passage highlights the gap between human and divine comprehension, making certain aspects of God's nature and plans unintelligible without His revelation.
ConclusionThe concept of unintelligibility in the Bible serves to remind believers of the necessity of divine assistance in understanding spiritual truths. Whether through the translation of languages, the interpretation of tongues, or the revelation of mysteries, God's guidance is essential for making the unintelligible intelligible.
Greek
5350. phtheggomai -- to utter... 5350 -- properly, to make a generic or
unintelligible sound (resembling the whinny
of a horse, ); (figuratively) to to the ("
unintelligible").
...2905. kraugazo -- to cry out
... out") -- properly, the loud bay (croaking) of animals; to cry out with loud screaming
or shrieking, especially with inarticulate (unintelligible) sounds; to...
915. barbaros -- barbarous, barbarian
... forunintelligible sounds Definition barbarous, barbarian NASB Word Usage
barbarian (3), barbarians (1), natives (2). barbarian....
Strong's Hebrew
6012. ameq -- deep, unfathomable... 6011, 6012. ameq. 6013 . deep, unfathomable. Transliteration: ameq Phonetic
Spelling: (aw-make') Short Definition:
unintelligible.
...Library
He Next Marvellously Overthrows theUnintelligible Statements of...
... Section 5. He next marvellously overthrows theunintelligible statements of Eunomius
which assert that the essence of the Father is not separated or divided...
His Dictum that the Manner of the Likeness must Follow the Manner...
... Book I. Section 32. His dictum that the manner of the likeness must follow
the manner of the generation' isunintelligible. But...
Antioch
... Christian teaching was essentially Jewish, but much of the phraseology in which
it would have been expressed by Jews must have beenunintelligible to Greek ears...
Repentance More Competent to Heathens than to Christians.
... Hence the remedies areunintelligible to such to whom the perils themselves are
unintelligible: whereas the principle of repentance finds there its...
Sunday after Easter
... 3. Though John's language is, as usual, plain and simple, yet, in the ears
of men generally, it is unusual andunintelligible. The...
Marvel Not
... I. "Marvel not""as if it wereunintelligible. II.... To begin with the first
of these:". I. Marvel not"as if it wereunintelligible....
Be it So; Let it be Conceded that These Most Unfortunate Cattle...
... food and bring it back again; nor the magmenta, [4886] augmina, and thousand other
kinds of sausages or pottages which you have givenunintelligible names to...
June 26:
... June 26th. Growth in grace is sometimes described as a strange, mystical, and
unintelligible process. It is mystical, but neither strange norunintelligible....
Whether the Intellectual Soul is United to the Body through the...
... various parts of matter. But various parts of matter areunintelligible without
division in measurable quantities. Therefore we must...
System of the Magicians; Incantations of Demons; Secret Magical...
... appearing to be borne away under divine influence, (and) hurrying into a corner
(of the house), utters a loud and harsh cry, andunintelligible to all,...and...
Thesaurus
Unintelligible (3 Occurrences)... Multi-Version Concordance
Unintelligible (3 Occurrences). Isaiah 33:19
Never again will you see the cruel people, a people whose
...Barbarous (1 Occurrence)
... bar-ba'-ri-an, bar'-ba-rus (barbaros): A word probably formed by imitation of the
unintelligible sounds of foreign speech, and hence, in the mouth of a Greek...
Barbarian (2 Occurrences)
... bar-ba'-ri-an, bar'-ba-rus (barbaros): A word probably formed by imitation of the
unintelligible sounds of foreign speech, and hence, in the mouth of a Greek...
Gift (148 Occurrences)
... of his day as preaching as if God or Christ were speaking through them, closing
their words with "strange, fanatical, and quiteunintelligible words of which...
Unintelligent (5 Occurrences)
Unintentional (2 Occurrences)
Jakeh (1 Occurrence)
... oracle" (the King James Version "spake," the Revised Version (British and American)
"saith") is quite exceptional, while the verse isunintelligible and the...
Greek (19 Occurrences)
... 3. (n.) A swindler; a knave; a cheat. 4. (n.) Somethingunintelligible; as, it was
all Greek to me. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. GREEK VERSIONS....
Rest (831 Occurrences)
... important of these additions are taken out of their context and put together at
the end of the canonical book, thus making them to a large extentunintelligible...
Miriam (13 Occurrences)
... The latter half of the verse is in its present situationunintelligible; it should
probably follow verse 18 (see Curtis, Chronicles, in the place cited.)....
Resources
What is Ugaritic, and what does it have to do with the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is glossolalia? | GotQuestions.orgDid Jesus speak in tongues? | GotQuestions.orgUnintelligible: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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