Beef Up Your Bible Reading 7

It will help your Bible reading no end if you can appreciate figures of speech. A figure of speech is a word or phrase used with a meaning other than its literal meaning. We use them all the time and we recognise them instinctively. I mean, don’t be a goat, pull yourself together, hang in there, you’re on the pig’s back. You know exactly what that means. It never entered your head to take it literally.

Figures of speech make our words, both spoken and written, more colourful (there’s another one), more attention-grabbing and more interesting They add emotional impact and sometimes they add meaning and clarity. So it’s hardly surprising that God uses all kinds of figures of speech in the Bible: “I am the door.” “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle…”

Here’s an exercise I think you’ll enjoy. These are some of the most common kinds of figures of speech. If you don’t already know, find out what they are, then look for examples of each one in the Bible. Share your favourite ones with the rest of us by putting them in a comment below.

Metaphor

Simile

It’s especially important to be able to recognise and appreciate metaphors and similes, but more about that next time.

Personification

Alliteration

Hyperbole

Irony

And if you want to go for gold:

Pun

Paradox

Oxymoron

Apostrophe

Assonance

Metonymy

Onomatopoeia

It's usually obvious when something is a figure of speech but sometimes you have to give it a little thought. If you're not sure, put the literal meaning alongside any possible figurative meaning. Which fits best in the context? Which makes the most sense? If one is nonsensical or confusing you can safely reject it. Which is most likely? Is the same word or phrase used in other places and, if it is, what does it mean there? Where it’s important to know how words are meant to be read there will always be enough clues to make it clear.