{"id":3226,"date":"2014-11-15T19:21:15","date_gmt":"2014-11-15T23:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/figuresofspeechinthebible.net\/?page_id=3226"},"modified":"2022-01-30T06:57:02","modified_gmt":"2022-01-30T10:57:02","slug":"amphibologia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/figuresofspeechinthebible.net\/?page_id=3226","title":{"rendered":"Amphibologia"},"content":{"rendered":"

AMPHIBOLOGIA; or, DOUBLE MEANING.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A Word or Phrase susceptible of two Interpretations<\/i>.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Am-phih-o-log’-i-a<\/i>, from the Greek \u1f00\u03bc\u03c6\u03af<\/span><\/span> (amphi<\/i>), on both sides<\/i>, \u03b2\u03cc\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2<\/span><\/span> (bolos<\/i>),\u00a0a throw<\/i>, and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u03bb<\/span><\/span>\u03cc\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2<\/span><\/span> (logos<\/i>), a word<\/i>; hence\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u1f00\u03bc\u03c6\u03b9\u03b2\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03af\u03b1 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>is a word or phrase susceptible of two interpretations. It is not<\/strong> synonymous with what we speak of as ambiguous; which means that which is uncertain or equivocal.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A statement which is amphibological has two meanings, both<\/b><\/u><\/i><\/span> of which are absolutely true.
\n(An equivocation has two meanings also, but only one of them is true.) There are several such statements in Scripture, and indeed all prophecies are more or less of this character. They are the words of Jehovah, who was, and is, and is to come; hence His words have a fulness of reference and meaning which one interpretation often fails to exhaust. A prophecy may have a reference to something at the time of its utterance. It may wait for its final fulfillment in the remote future. And there may be an application to the time between these two limits. Hence the Futurist and Preterist interpretations are both true, in so far as they are each a part of the truth. But they are each wrong when the one is put for <\/span><\/span>the other, and a part is put for the whole.<\/span><\/span>
\n
\nA beautiful example of Amphibologia<\/i> is furnished in 2 Kings 5:18<\/a> \u2014\u201cGo in peace.\u201d This was Elisha’s answer to Naaman, who wished to know whether the Lord would pardon if, when he went with his master, the king of Syria into the temple of Rimmon, he bowed himself there.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\nElisha’s answer was an Amphibologia<\/i>: \u201cGo in peace.\u201d If he had said, \u201cYes; you may bow,\u201d that would have been to sanction idolatry. And if he had said, \u201cNo; you must not bow,\u201d that would have been to put Naaman’s conscience under a yoke of bondage to Elisha.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\nEzek. 12:13<\/a> \u2014The term Amphibologia<\/i>, however, refers more especially to a prophecy like that concerning Zedekiah, king of Judah, in Ezek. 12:13: \u201cI will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there.\u201d This prophecy, by itself, is almost in the form of an \u00c6<\/i><\/span>nigma<\/i><\/a> (q.v.<\/i> ): for it is capable of two interpretations, both of which are true. The other is in Jer. 34:3<\/a> \u2014\u201cThine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\nZedekiah, in his unbelief and perverseness, determined not to believe either of these prophecies, because he could not understand them. So Josephus tells us. Yet both were perfectly true, as the fulfilment proved.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\nZedekiah had his eyes put out by the king of Babylon at Riblah
\n(2 Kings 25:7<\/a>; Jer. 39:7;<\/a> 52:11<\/a>). He spoke to the king of Babylon, and saw him; and he was afterwards taken to Babylon, but did not see it, though he died there (Ezek. 17:16<\/a>).<\/span><\/span>
\n
\nJohn 19:22<\/a> \u2014\u201cWhat I have written I have written.\u201d Pilate said this to convey two meanings. First, to state a matter of fact; and second, to dismiss an inconvenient subject; implying that he did not wish to alter what he had written, and yet did not declare that he would not. The history seems to imply that he did afterwards either alter it or permit it to be altered.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\nFor<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(1) The inscription in John 19:19 was written (probably in Latin) and put on the cross before it left Pilate’s presence.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\n(2) The inscription in Matt. 27:37<\/a> was written probably in Hebrew, and placed over his head, not by the soldiers who nailed him to the cross, but by the persons, \u201cthey,\u201d who crucified him. This was not so placed until after the garments had been divided, and the soldiers had \u201csat down to watch him there.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\n(3) The inscription in Luke 23:38<\/a> appears to have been of Hebrew origin (the Hebrew being put last, whereas in Pilate’s (John) the Latin was last). It was not seen till near the sixth hour, and was apparently the cause of the reviling which followed, \u201cJesus\u201d being omitted from Matthew’s, which seems to have been intermediate between John’s and Luke’s, while Mark’s was probably the same as <\/span><\/span>that to which Luke refers and gives merely another translation of the Hebrew.<\/span><\/span>
\n
\nIt is impossible for us, now, to know what discussion went on during the day. All that we know is, from John 19, that the Jews earnestly desired to have it altered, and that Pilate did not decidedly refuse at the time. So that it is probable that the discussions continued, and these different inscriptions are the evidence of it, put up in different terms, and at different times: or it may be that it was the various translations that were so put up.
\n
\nFrom these considerations we would suggest that the difficulty felt as to the variations in the wording of the inscriptions may be removed more easily and satisfactorily by believing that there were at least three inscriptions put up at different times during the day, and that these, being changed, differed from each other. If this be not the explanation then another series of difficulties is created\u2014as to the sequence of the events recorded in the different gospels.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\nOur present suggestion meets both sets of difficulties at once.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\nActs 17:22<\/a> is another example. \u201cYe men of Athens, in all things I perceive that ye are very religious.\u201d (See R.V. margin, somewhat religious).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\nThis has two interpretations: for they were truly very \u201creligious,\u201d and yet knew nothing of true Christianity. We thus learn that Christianity is religion; but religion is not necessarily Christianity. To say that a person is religious tells us nothing: for he may be a Buddhist, a Mahommedan, a Roman Catholic, or a votary of any other religious system; but it does not follow that such an one is \u201cin\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Christ,\u201d and therefore a Christian.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/span>From \u201c<\/span><\/span><\/span>Figures Of Speech Used In The Bible<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>\u201d by E. W. Bullinger,
\n(Public Domain) pages 804-806. Adapted for website compatibility.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span>See original at link. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>Stream<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Download<\/span><\/span><\/a>.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

figuresofspeechinthebible.net \u00a9 2013-2022. <\/i>All rights reserved. Material in public domain may be freely copied and distributed without charge for educational, non-commercial purposes. This website, and those referenced by this site as sources of public domain material, are to be referenced. Material that is not in public domain, and indicated as such, is the property of its rightful owner(s), and\/or originator.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AMPHIBOLOGIA; or, DOUBLE MEANING. A Word or Phrase susceptible of two Interpretations. Am-phih-o-log’-i-a, from the Greek \u1f00\u03bc\u03c6\u03af (amphi), on both sides, \u03b2\u03cc\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2 (bolos),\u00a0a throw, and\u00a0\u03bb\u03cc\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2 (logos), a word; hence\u00a0\u1f00\u03bc\u03c6\u03b9\u03b2\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03af\u03b1 is a word or phrase susceptible of two interpretations. It is not synonymous with what we speak of as ambiguous; which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":270,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3226","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/figuresofspeechinthebible.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/figuresofspeechinthebible.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/figuresofspeechinthebible.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/figuresofspeechinthebible.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/figuresofspeechinthebible.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3226"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/figuresofspeechinthebible.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14180,"href":"https:\/\/figuresofspeechinthebible.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3226\/revisions\/14180"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/figuresofspeechinthebible.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/figuresofspeechinthebible.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}