Word Puns in the Bible

  • Thread starter Thread starter Augustine3
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

Augustine3

Guest
Genesis 2:25 “The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.”
Genesis 3:1 “Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the LORD God had made”.

The word “cunning,” in Hebrew ‘arum, echoes and puns on ‘arumim, “naked,”. The root sense of ‘erum, “naked,” is “smooth”: someone who is naked is hairless, clothesless, smooth of skin. But as the pun suggests, someone who is clever is also smooth, a facile thinker and talker whose surface speech is beguiling and flawless, hiding well his rough ulteriour purposes.

Does anybody know of other word puns in the bible?
 
If you want a look at some more of them you can read Robert Alter’s translations of some of the OT books. He tends to point those sort of things out.

I know it’s not technically a word pun, but one of my favorites is when the Israelites ask “Was it for lack of graves that you brought us out of Egypt!?” I mean, come on, the Egyptians were all about death and graves 😛
 
I recall hearing that "strain at a gnat and swallow a camel" has a pun in the original, but I don’t remember the words for gnat and camel.
 
Joe_Kelley said:
I recall hearing that "strain at a gnat and swallow a camel" has a pun in the original, but I don’t remember the words for gnat and camel.
Click to expand...
Nice one!

I did a Google search and found “camel” (gamla) and “gnat” (galma)
 
Here are a few more:

Then the Lord God formed the man (adam) of dirt (adama) and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. - Gen. 2.7

And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones (ebenim) to raise up children (benim) for Abraham. - Mat. 3:9

And directing the crowd to sit (yashav) down on the ground (esev), he took the seven (sheva) loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke (shavar) them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied (seva), and seven (sheva) baskets full of the broken pieces left over. - Mat. 15:35-37

And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man (adam) should scatter (zara) seed (zera) on the ground (adama).” - Mark 4:26
 
Augustine3 said:
Genesis 2:25 “The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.”
Genesis 3:1 “Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the LORD God had made”.

The word “cunning,” in Hebrew ‘arum, echoes and puns on ‘arumim, “naked,”. The root sense of ‘erum, “naked,” is “smooth”:** someone who is naked is hairless**, clothesless, smooth of skin. But as the pun suggests, someone who is clever is also smooth, a facile thinker and talker whose surface speech is beguiling and flawless, hiding well his rough ulteriour purposes.

Does anybody know of other word puns in the bible?
Click to expand...
LOL, I beg to differ. You must not know too many hairy people…I have hair on my shoulders…back…chest and stomach…very hairy legs…all red…with a smattering of grey…I have to trim or it’s uncomfortable at times…being naked doesn’t make the hair go away.🙂
 
publisher said:
lol, i beg to differ. You must not know too many hairy people…i have hair on my shoulders…back…chest and stomach…very hairy legs…all red…with a smattering of grey…i have to trim or it’s uncomfortable at times…being naked doesn’t make the hair go away.🙂
Click to expand...
tmi ::D:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top