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This article first appeared in the printed version of "Positive Words", August 1976 ff. Revised and Copyright
© 2002
Peter Wade.
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Figures of Speech--An Introduction (2)
by Peter Wade
Literal and figurative meanings
There is a great problem in not distinguishing between the literal and the figurative meanings of words. This has caused tremendous confusion with commentators and with lexicons and concordances. Too often a figurative usage has been taken and listed as an alternative meaning of a word. Then someone comes along, checks out the listing, and picks the meaning that suits their particular theology or thinking on the subject at hand. That word may have been used in a figurative sense in one part of the Bible, but that does not mean that it can be applied somewhere else as it suits the students fancy or theology. This is a problem in translations such as the Amplified Bible.
"In seeking to fix the exact significance of a word, only its literal usage should be consulted. Here alone the actual meaning appears. The figurative is a departure from it" (Keyword Concordance, pp. 350-351). There is a definite principle that should be constantly in mind: "The literal meaning of a word is one and constant; the figurative usage is diverse and variable." (page 351).
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The basic meaning of a word will remain the same, and its figurative meaning will still bear some resemblance to the basic meaning. Let us also remember that as we attempt to establish the variation in the figurative meaning, we must always go back first to the basic meaning and work out from there. Do not take a figurative meaning and allow it to influence your understanding of the basic meaning, for if the foundation is not sure, the superstructure will tumble.
Let us also beware of applying a figurative meaning to all usages of one word. For example, even though in one parable we are told that "the sower soweth the word" (Mark 4:14), we cannot assume that every time the word "seed" or the phrase "that which is sown" is mentioned that it refers to the Word of God. In another parable the "good seed are the children of the kingdom" (Matthew 13:38). Let us only apply a figure where it belongs.
Since figures of speech are the Holy Spirit's markings as to what is important in The Word, it will become an interesting and vital subject for every believer that is really concerned about what God has spoken to them. Do we need any other motive for our study?
Figures of likeness
Figures of likeness are employed where there is a comparison to be considered. The important fact about figures of likeness is that they depend on unlikeness. The two objects being compared must be unlike in the main yet similar in perhaps one or more particulars in order to be a figure. Under no circumstance must the likeness be allowed to go beyond these particulars or the figure is violated. This rule is often violated by the enthusiasm of some preachers when dealing with the many parables in the Word. A parable is a figure of likeness, yet the likeness is only to be considered in the salient points and not in the multitude of detail that is given in order to make the word picture complete.
I will illustrate the problem with an example from the Book of Revelation. It matters little to endeavour to assign a meaning to a hair on the end of one of the ten horns of the seven-headed beast that rose out of the sea (Revelation 13). That the beast itself is symbolic of someone or something is obvious, but the majority of the detail is given to complete the picture, so that the symbol is not confused with other beasts or persons in the Book of Revelation who also have horns.
Resemblance
All figures of likeness may be expanded into a simile by adding the formula "is like". This is a simple test to determine whether the figure is to be recognized as a figure of likeness. A simile actually states that one thing is like or similar to another in some respect -- "All flesh is like grass".
The metaphor is bolder, for it leaves the realm of fact and says that one thing is another -- "All flesh is grass". Now let us think about these two statements for a moment. In what way are human beings like grass? At first thought you would say there is very little agreement between a blade of grass and a fine example of humanity like yourself. But God has used the expression "all flesh is like grass" and there must be a reason for such an emphasis to be made. By using such a figure, God is showing that there is some really tremendous truth to be understood.
I Peter 1:24-25 actually makes the statement we have been considering. Sometimes in the translation of the Word of God, the word "as" is used where in other places the word "like" is found, and whenever you see either word you should stop and consider whether the figure of resemblance (simile) is present. Now let us read the verse and endeavour to discover what resemblance there is between a blade of grass and humanity. "For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: but the word of the Lord endureth for ever."
The immediate context indicates that the resemblance is in the area of the life span of grass. Grass grows quickly, and in time of drought dries up quickly. When compared to the eternal endurance of God's Word, the life span of man is seen to be as short as that of grass. Obviously we should give more time to those things that last for ever, than to those short-lived material things that we think are such an important part of our life.
Now we can see the beauty of the figure of resemblance. It is a figure because it is not true to fact. I see people every day of my life and yet I have not seen anyone yet that looks like a blade of grass! I have seen some who are thinner than I am, with only room for one stripe down their pyjama pants, but they are still not like a blade of grass! And so the statement before us is a figure, and it is the figure of resemblance, for God has pointed to some resemblance between grass and humanity.
So that we understand this particular figure better, I want to take a further example of its use, this time from Psalm 1. As we read verse 3 you will notice the word "like" is employed: "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season. Whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper." The word "he" refers back to the man described in verse 2, and the figure of resemblance is used to emphasize some resemblance between this man and a tree. It is obviously a figure for we have yet to see a man who actually looks like a tree. Now the righteous man is compared, not with any tree, but with one that is receiving adequate moisture for growth (in this particular case, by irrigation), one that bears its fruit at the right season, and one that shows its continual life by the luxuriant canopy of green leaves. What a beautiful tree, standing there in all its glory! And each point of resemblance mentioned has a parallel in the life of a righteous man, who has all the potential for fruit-bearing and prosperity as does the tree.
Verse 4 declares that "the ungodly are not so". None of the glorious aspects of the life of the righteous man are found in the ungodly. Verse 4 continues: "... but are like the chaff which the wind drives away." The old method of separating the chaff from the wheat was to throw the wheat into the air on a windy day. The chaff would be blown to one side while the wheat would fall down into the dish again. "The ungodly ... are like the chaff." They serve no useful purpose, but are only fit to be blown away, separated from the prosperous godly people. The figure is again that of resemblance.
Now the same truth could be stated very plainly without the use of a figure in perhaps this way: "The righteous are stable, prosperous people but the ungodly are useless people." But how that lacks colour, and feeling! How much better is the tremendous picture we see in our minds of luxuriant trees versus dried-up chaff carried by the wind. Can you now see the beauty and impact of figures of speech? God has carefully placed His emphasis in the Word and our observation of it brings much blessing.
Let us now look at a parable in our quest for an understanding of the figure of resemblance. You will no doubt remember the two houses, one built upon a rock and the other built upon sand. Matthew 7:24-27 contains the record. "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him [there is the word "like" and it indicates that the figure of resemblance is now going to be employed] to a wise man who built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock." The picture is vivid, isn't it? It is an illustration of a person who hears the word of God and who applies it by action to his or her life. This one is standing firm on the solid foundation of the Word, even though the storms of limiting appearances and unbelief are raging around.
"Now everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like [the word "like" again, indicating the figure of resemblance] a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." Again the picture is so vivid that is leaves very little to the imagination. In fact, for added emphasis the two pictures are set in perfect contrast one to the other. The one hearing and walking on the Word of God is contrasted with the one who is not. The house built upon the rock is contrasted with that on the sand. The steadfastness of one is contrasted with the insecurity of the other. The language is figurative but it is not false; it is loaded with emphasis and vitality so that we comprehend the truth that God's Word is teaching in these verses.
One further example of resemblance will have to suffice. Isaiah 24:2-3 makes this statement: "And it shall be: as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor. The land shall be utterly emptied and utterly plundered, for the Lord hath spoken this word." The words "as" and "so" also indicate that the figure is that of resemblance, and you will notice that they are used six times in verse 2. The emphasis is made very strongly that absolutely everybody in the land was going to be affected by this situation. For example, there are lots of differences between a servant and his master, and yet here they have one point of likeness -- they will both be affected by the judgement of God. The emphasis is so strong as you read down through verse 2 that by the time you get to the end of the verse you are really wondering what is going to happen to all these people, and the climax comes in verse 3 when you discover that the land is going to be emptied and plundered.
So the first figure of likeness that we should be alert for is the figure of resemblance.
Representation
You will recall that we illustrated the previous figure of resemblance by the phrase "all flesh is like grass." Now we take the thought one step deeper by the figure of representation and say "all flesh is grass." This gives much greater impact and makes the comparison bolder. The figure is correctly known as a metaphor, a Greek word meaning a transference or a carrying over. However, the word "metaphor" and the phrase "metaphorically speaking" are so commonly used in English to designate any or all figures of speech, that I suggest you do not use it as a label for the figure of representation. When I speak of any or all figures of speech, I call them "figures of speech" or "a figure" or perhaps I would also say "figuratively speaking".
Having defined the term, notice Isaiah 40:6-8: "The voice said, 'Cry out!'. And he said, 'What shall I cry?' 'All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field... surely the people are grass..." The emphasis is made bolder by declaring that one thing is another. To give further examples, "All we like sheep..." (Isaiah 53:6) is the figure of resemblance; "We are... the sheep of His pasture ..." (Psalm 100:3) is the figure of representation.
Perhaps it will help if I give this illustration. Suppose I take a photograph out of my wallet and show it to you. I might say "This is me ten years ago." But that is a figure of speech, for it is not true to fact that a little piece of shiny paper is actually me! However, the image on the paper is a representation of me, and it depends on the ability of the photographer as to whether it is a good or a bad representation! Now you might think (and with good cause) that I was being pedantic if I said "This is a representation of me taken by photography ten years ago!" But since English-speaking persons prefer to omit words rather than add them, we constantly use the figure of representation, and would say, "This is me ten years ago."
"You are the salt of the earth..." (Matthew 5:13). You represent to the world what salt represents to other things -- preservation from corruption. "I am the door.." (John 10:9). Christ represents the function of a door. Christ is the entrance to the sheepfold and to the Father. In both these examples you will notice that there is "a distinct affirmation that one thing is another thing, owing to some association or connection in the uses or effects of anything expressed or understood" (E.W. Bullinger). It could be said that the figure of representation is an abbreviated figure of resemblance, for it omits the statement of likeness.
 
This page Copyright © 2002 Peter Wade. The Bible text in this publication, except where otherwise indicated, is from the King James Version. This article appears on the site: http://www.peterwade.com/. Would you like your own copy of books by Peter Wade and other authors? Go to our Catalog. | |
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