KJV

KJV

Click to Change

Return to Top

Return to Top

Printer Icon

Print

The Blue Letter Bible

Dictionaries :: Dead

Choose a new font size and typeface
International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia

Dead:

ded (muth; nekros): Used in several senses:

(1) as a substantive, denoting the body deprived of life, as when Abraham speaks of burying his dead (Ge 23);

(2) as a collective noun including all those that have passed away from life (as Re 20:12). In several passages dead in this sense is used in contrast to the quick or living (as Nu 16:48). This collective mode of expression is used when resurrection is described as "rising from the dead";

(3) as an adjective, coupled with body, carcass or man, as De 14:8 the King James Version;

(4) most frequently it is used as a complement of the verb "to be," referring to the condition of being deceased or the period of death, e. g. 2Sa 12:19; Mr 5:35;

(5) in the sense of being liable to death it occurs in Ge 20:3; Ex 12:33; 2Sa 16:9;

(6) as an intensive adjective it is used in the phrase "dead sleep," to mean profound sleep simulating death (Ps 76:6);

(7) figuratively "dead" is used to express the spiritual condition of those who are unable to attain to the life of faith. They are dead in trespasses, as in Eph 2:1, or conversely, those who by the New Birth are delivered from sin, are said to be dead to the Law (as Col 2:20, etc.). A faith which does not show its life in the practical virtues of Christianity is called dead (Jas 2:17);

(8) in Ro 4:19; Heb 11:12, "dead" signifies the senile condition of loss of vigor and virility.

The passage in Job 26:5, wherein in the King James Version "dead things" seem to mean things that never had life, is more accurately translated in the Revised Version (British and American) as "they that are deceased," i.e. the shades of the dead.

There are few references to the physical accompaniments of the act of dying. Deborah has a poetical account of the death of Sisera (Jud 5:24 ff), and in Ec 12, where the failure of the bodily faculties in old age culminates in death, it is pictorially compared to the breaking of a lamp extinguishing the flame ("golden" being probably used of "oil," as it is in Zec 4:12), and the loosing of the silver chebhel or chain by which the lamp is suspended in the tent of the Arabic.

The dead body defiled those who touched it (Le 11:31) and therefore sepulture took place speedily, as in the case of Lazarus (Joh 11:17-39) and Ananias and Sapphira (Ac 5:6-10). This practice is still followed by the fellahin.

The uselessness of the dead is the subject of proverb (Ec 9:4) and the phrase "dead dog" is used as a contemptuous epithet as of a person utterly worthless (1Sa 24:14; 2Sa 9:8; 16:9).

Written by Alexander Macalister

Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words
A-1 Noun and Adjective Strong's Number: g3498 Greek: nekros

Dead:

is used of

(a) the death of the body, cp. Jam 2:26, its most frequent sense:

(b) the actual spiritual condition of unsaved men, Mat 8:22; Jhn 5:25; Eph 2:1, 5; 5:14; Phl 3:11; Col 2:13; cp. Luk 15:24:

(c) the ideal spiritual condition of believers in regard to sin, Rom 6:11:

(d) a church in declension, inasmuch as in that state it is inactive and barren, Rev 3:1:

(e) sin, which apart from law cannot produce a sense of guilt, Rom 7:8:

(f) the body of the believer in contrast to his spirit, Rom 8:10:

(g) the works of the Law, inasmuch as, however good in themselves, Rom 7:13, they cannot produce life, Hbr 6:1; 9:14:

(h) the faith that does not produce works, Jam 2:17, 26; cp. ver. 20. *
[* From Notes on Thessalonians, by Hogg and Vine, p. 143.]

B-1 Verb Strong's Number: g3499 Greek: nekroo

Dead:

"to put to death," is used in the Active Voice in the sense of destroying the strength of, depriving of power, with reference to the evil desires which work in the body, Col 3:5. In the Passive Voice it is used of Abraham's body as being "as good as dead," Rom 4:19 with Hbr 11:12.

B-2 Verb Strong's Number: g2289 Greek: thanatoo

Dead:

"to put to death:" see DEATH, C, No. 1.

BLB Searches
Search the Bible
KJV
 [?]

Advanced Options

Other Searches

Multi-Verse Retrieval
x
KJV

Daily Devotionals
x

Blue Letter Bible offers several daily devotional readings in order to help you refocus on Christ and the Gospel of His peace and righteousness.

Daily Bible Reading Plans
x

Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year.

One-Year Plans

Two-Year Plan

CONTENT DISCLAIMER:

The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.