Inner and Outward Adorning Part 2

"Then Peter goes on to mention the “plaiting of hair.” By using this phrase, he is referring to a practice that was very common among Greek and Roman women of the first century. These women didn’t just pull out the blow dryer and spend twenty minutes preparing their hair for the day. Rather, they literally spent multiplied hours toiling with their hair! I say women “toiled” with their hair because it took a great deal of time to produce the fashionable hairstyles of that day. In fact, the word “plaiting” used by Peter is the Greek word emploke which describes the intricate, complex, and outrageously elaborate braiding of a woman’s hair.

Greek and Roman women were obsessed with turning their hair into intricate towers of curls and braids. If you visit a museum of antiquities and look at the statues of first- century women, it will amaze you to see the thousands of curls that were woven into women’s hair.

This hairstyle was considered beautiful, elegant, and fashionable in the first century. This fashion trend was imitated all over the Roman empire. As a result of this popular rage, women invested huge amounts of time and great sums of money to produce the desired effect."

Peter was not against women making their hair more beautiful. He simply didn’t want believing women to focus all their attention on their hair and forget about the condition of their hearts. (Continued)

Inner and Outward Adorning Part 1

Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 1 Peter 3:3,4

Was Peter really saying that it was a sin for a wife or a woman to wear jewelry or cosmetics? Of course not. Instead he was telling them not to invest all their time solely in their faces and their outward appearance.

" Women in the first century, especially upper class Greek and Roman women were obsessed with their outward appearance. They were flamboyant in their hairstyles, spent vast amounts of money on cosmetics, arrayed themselves in luxurious jewelry, and prided themselves on the lavish clothing that they wore. Nothing was wrong with their desire to look nice—except that they were so consumed with adorning their bodies that they forgot to adorn their hearts.

The word “adorning” in 1 Peter 3:3 is the word kosmos, which is used 187 times in the New Testament. The word kosmos carries the idea of something that is ordered , or set in a certain arrangement. The word cosmetics comes from this word. This tells us that when a woman is applying makeup, she is trying to add order to her face.

The King James Version translates it adorning because the application of cosmetics not only beautifies a woman’s appearance, but also gives it a greater sense of order. " (continued)

A Double Portion of the Spirit

And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. 2 Kings 2:9

Biblical Hebrew is a very simple language, with only 400 word stems. For this reason it contains many homonyms and strange expressions which we often find contain spiritual messages. A example follows.

Elisha asks his teacher, Elijah, “Let a double portion of your spirit be upon me (II Kings 2:9). There is of course no quantitative measurement of spirit, so these words might seem senseless, but among the Jews, the eldest son commonly received a double portion of inheritance. Thus Elisha’s words imply, “Make me your principal spiritual heir.”

(Wurmbrand, Richard., 100 Prison Meditations Cries of Truth from Behind the Iron Curtain, Living Sacrifice Books, Bartlesville, OK, 1982, pg 193)

Bethinking Ourselves

Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;
1 Kings 8:47

Bethink themselves occurs in 1 Kings 8:47 (= 2 Chronicles 6:37), "if they shall bethink themselves. . . , and repent, and make supplication unto thee . . . , saying, We have sinned. . . ."

The phrase is used here in a sense equivalent to "When he came to himself" in the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:17). One version translates the Hebrew more literally: "If they lay it to heart. . . , and repent, and make supplication to thee. . . , saying, 'We have sinned. . . .'" Other occurrences of the same Hebrew idiom are Deuteronomy 4:39; 30:1; Isaiah 44:19; 46:8; Lamentations 3:21.

(The Bible Word Book, Bridges & Weigle, pg 41)

Hebrew Root Meanings

"Thus, for instance, the usual term for “meek” is derived from a root which signifies affliction. The usual term for “wicked” comes from a root that expresses the notion of restlessness. [Donna:Think of Isaiah 57:20] A “sinner” is one who misses the mark. To “delight” in anything is literally to bend down towards it. [A dear image when we think about of little children.]

The “law” is that which indicated the mind of God. “Righteousness” is that which is perfectly straight. “Truth” is that which is firm. “Vanity” that which is empty. “Anger” is derived from a root meaning to breathe, quick breathing being a sign of irritated feeling. [See May 18 post] To “trust” is to take shelter under, or to lean upon, or to cast oneself on. To “judge” is radically [as to its root meaning] to smooth or make equal.”'

(Girdlestone, R.B., Girdlestone’s Synonyms of the Old Testament, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts, 1983, pg 19)

Faith/Fulness

"So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up - one on one side, one on the other - so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword." Exodus 17:10-13 (NIV)


"The key phrase is found in verse 12: “And his hands remained steady...” (vay'hi yadaiv emunah). The word “steady” is actually the Hebrew word for faith, emunah. This important truth can easily escape readers in other languages.

Consequently, they miss the understanding that emunah (faith) fundamentally implies firmness, steadiness, steadfastness, persistence, fidelity or loyalty. In a word, the foundational Hebrew concept of faith is really “faithfulness.” Moses’ hands remained “firm” until the going down of the sun, and through his “faithfulness” Israel triumphed over her foes.

Faithfulness is the victory that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4). To the Hebrew mind, faith is more than belief in something; it is faithfulness to someone. Yes, emunah is related to the word for truth and it does imply trust or belief. But it is more than mental assent to truthful propositions or the confidence that comes from intellectual conviction. Faith is fully Hebraic only when it is fully faithful.

Perhaps we could render it this way: it is “faith/fulness.” Biblical faith is both trust and trustworthiness; both conviction and persistent determination. But it stands or falls on the foundation of faithfulness. “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” (Isaiah 7:9). To fail to see this is to fall short of the faith of our father, Abraham."

(http://www.bridgesforpeace.com/publications/teaching/Article-17.html)

Days of the Week and The Sabbath

And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. Exodus 16:23

"The celebration of time re-creates meaning in human life. The ancient Romans knew this surely, as they patterned their weeks to honor the planets, thereby giving cosmological import to time. Their days ran: (Dies) Saturni, Solis, Lunae, Martis, Mercurii, Jovis, and Veneris. Their times were patterned to give the heavenly bodies their due; and their pattern is reflected in the Saxon usage: Sun’s Day, Moon’s Day, Tiw’s Day, Woden’s Day, Thor’s Day, Frigg’s Day, and Saterne’s Day.

For Israel, humanity had not shaped the Sabbath, but humanity was to be shaped by it. The Sabbath patterned and symbolized life, giving it pulse and purpose. The days ascended, like steps going up to Jerusalem. The days ascended, by number, one through five, to the sixth of preparation and the seventh of Sabbath, with each day beginning at sunset."

[Donna: The days of the Hebrew week used numbers to differentiate them. Only the Sabbath had a name.]

(Burkhart, John E. 2002. Worship: A Searching Examination of the Liturgical Experience. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers (reproduced with permission from the Westminster Press, pgs 56,57-58)