L
lissa70
Guest
Can anyone give me an explanation of the phrase “gird your loins” as it relates to Ephesians 6:9-18 - The Armor of God. In particular I am interested in the etymology of the terms.
- Status
P
patrick457
Guest
“Stand therefore, having girded your waist/loins with truth.” (Stēte, oun perizōsamenoi tēn osphyn ymōn en alētheia)
Osphys denote the area of the body between the ribs and the thighs, i.e. the waist/hips/thighs. Perizonnymi is “to fasten garments with a belt”.
I’m sorry if I can’t understand your inquiry clearly. Can you please elaborate?
D
Danno2281
Guest
To gird your loins during the Roman Era meant to draw-up and tie your lower garment between your legs as to increase your mobility and agility. This prevented the loose ends of the tunic from becoming snagged on something or entangled with your feet which would cause you to stumble or fall down when moving about quickly.
How to gird your loins:
This was accomplished by pulling up the fabric of the knee-length tunic so the length in front stopped at your upper thigh, and collecting the excess material in your front. (You pull the material forward so the back of your tunic is snug against your backside.) Next, you tuck the extra front material down between your legs and gather it behind you. At this point, you collect half of the material behind you evenly on each side of your back (left and right). The final step involves wrapping each side of the material around your waist and tying it together in front.
L
lissa70
Guest
Thank you Danno - that was what I was looking for.
K
kepha1
Guest
Girding your loins for agility while standing doesn’t make much sense to me. I always thought it meant having ones sexuality in order. “Stand therefore, having girded your waist/loins with truth.” I think girding waist/loins was an idiom of the time, used to emphasize chastity.
N
NHInsider
Guest
Danno is absolutely correct. The whole context of the passage is an image of preparing for spiritual warfare, using the analogy of preparing for battle in war. Girding the loins to be agile and able to respond quickly is perfectly sensible. (And might also include chastity or even celibacy, according to other Pauline references - but not exclusively.)
C
COPLAND_3
Guest
I’m not too crazy about the use of the old fashioned phrase of “gird your loins.” In my opinion it should be translated now as “fasten your belts” since that is how most people would understand it. I remember one time Glenn Beck talking about how weird “gird your loins” sounds, like if someone says to you, “What are you doing there in the bathroom? I’m just girding my loins.”
P
patrick457
Guest
‘Gird your loins’ does sound rather dodgy to the modern reader, due to loin being associated with groin.I’m not too crazy about the use of the old fashioned phrase of “gird your loins.” In my opinion it should be translated now as “fasten your belts” since that is how most people would understand it. I remember one time Glenn Beck talking about how weird “gird your loins” sounds, like if someone says to you, “What are you doing there in the bathroom? I’m just girding my loins.”
Even so, I advocate preserving the ‘loins’ part (since it is a native expression), even if translated a bit differently to convey the meaning more clearly to the modern reader: “put/fasten/tie [a belt around]” or, more simply, “belt” (i.e. as in “Jim belted himself”, in the sense of “Jim tied a belt”) your “hips/waist/thighs”.
D
Danno2281
Guest
How about the “old-fashioned phrase” crucify? That just isn’t relevant now, is it? We cannot remove the scriptures from their historical contexts because they are the backdrop upon which the history of salvation unfolds. How many shepherds do we know? But a child can learn what a shepherd is readily enough. Let’s not be too lazy to learn.I’m not too crazy about the use of the old fashioned phrase of “gird your loins.” In my opinion it should be translated now as “fasten your belts” since that is how most people would understand it. I remember one time Glenn Beck talking about how weird “gird your loins” sounds, like if someone says to you, “What are you doing there in the bathroom? I’m just girding my loins.”
D
Dorothy
Guest
Amen! We need to keep learning. And, from having conversations about our Catholic faith with my ten year and eight year old grandsons, they are capable of understanding quite a bit! And, are willing to learn, when we allow the Holy Spirit to aid us in making it age-appropriate and interesting.
J
John7
Guest
Just thought I’d mention,
a person can be said to have mental loins
1 Peter 1:13 “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober…”
can mean to prepare for mental work, kind of like ‘roll up the sleeves’ of your mind.
a person can be said to have mental loins
1 Peter 1:13 “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober…”
can mean to prepare for mental work, kind of like ‘roll up the sleeves’ of your mind.
C
COPLAND_3
Guest
Historical context? Gird your loins is an English phrase, its not like it is original, the original is the Greek ὀσφύες περιεζωσμέναι. Some English words and phrases don’t evolve much or any, such as crucify or shepherd, but some words and phrases do. Updating an English equivilent as a language evolves is not “removing Scripture from their historical context.”
N
NHInsider
Guest
excellent example, and “roll up your sleeves” is a near-equivalent since it includes the suggestion of getting ready by getting potential hindrances out of the way. But it lacks the battle connotation which is the key to Paul’s “put on the armor of God” metaphor. “Tuck your tunic into your girdle” would work if you were trying to do an equivalency translation for modern readers, and might avoid the tendency to misunderstand this as a sexual reference. Most of the modern English translations seem to go for “belt” of Truth, as do the modern Spanish, French and German. Which again loses the battlefield preparation reference, unfortunately.
Copland - how does the Greek translate literally?
D
Danno2281
Guest
περιζωσάμενοι τὴν ὀσφὺν ὑμῶν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ
“Put a cord around your loins in truth.”
- Status