Dictionary: Face
Synonyms: countenance, physiognomy, profile, features, expression, facial expression, look, appearance, air, manner, bearing, guise, cast, aspect, impression, grimace, scowl, wry face, wince, frown, glower, smirk, pout, moue, side, flank, vertical, surface, plane, facet, wall, elevation, dial, display, (outward) appearance, nature, image, front, show, act, false front, facade, exterior, mask, masquerade, pretence, charade, pose, illusion, smokescreen, veneer, camouflage, respect, honour, esteem, regard, admiration, approbation, acclaim, approval, favour, appreciation, popularity, estimation, veneration, awe, reverence, deference, recognition, prestige, standing, status, dignity, glory, kudos, cachet, effrontery, audacity, nerve, gall, brazenness, brashness, shamelessness, look out on, front on to, look towards, be facing, have/afford/command a view of, look over/across, open out over, look on to, overlook, give on to, give over, be opposite (to), accept, come to accept, become reconciled to, reconcile oneself to, reach an acceptance (of), get used to, become accustomed to, adjust to, accommodate oneself to, acclimatize oneself to, be confronted by, be faced with, encounter, experience, come into contact with, run into, come across, meet, come up against, be forced to contend with, beset, worry, distress, cause trouble to, trouble, bother, confront, burden, brave, face up to, meet head-on, dare, defy, oppose, resist, withstand, cover, clad, skin, overlay, dress, pave, put a facing on, laminate, inlay, plate, coat, line
Antonyms: dodge, fear, back, give way, back down, dodge, avoid, throw in the towel, withdraw, cave in, retreat, succumb to, lay down one's arms, throw in the sponge, defer, submit, escape, bashfulness, shun, evade, elude
Showing 1076 to 1100 of 1254 results
Understanding Series
Larry W. Hurtado
... formed from waters flowing out of the mountains to the north, such as Mount Hermon. This body of water is about thirteen miles north to south and about seven miles east to west, and is in a deep basin, about 700 feet below sea level at the surface. The river Jordan flows out the south end toward the Dead Sea. There is a plain on the western shore, varying in width, and sharp cliffs on the eastern side. On this plain in Jesus’ time were flourishing towns—Capernaum, Bethsaida, Tiberias—in some of which ...
Understanding Series
Larry W. Hurtado
... do not seem to have any symbolical significance. 4:37 A furious squall: The Sea of Galilee is known for the sudden storms that swirl its waters. These arise because it lies in a deep basin with hills all around it, causing treacherous wind patterns on its surface. 4:39 Be still!: Literally, this verb means “Be muzzled!” portraying the sea as a kind of animal or perhaps demonic force that is here subdued, recognizing its master. 4:40 Do you still have no faith?: This is another instance in which Mark’s ...
Understanding Series
Larry W. Hurtado
... in the scribe’s comment on Jesus’ answer (vv. 32–33), love of God and neighbor is placed above and contrasted somewhat with temple ritual. This comment, peculiar to the Markan version, may be explained by the fact that in Mark 11–16 a claim surfaces again and again that Jesus in some way replaces the temple as the central place where God manifests himself. At the beginning of chapter 11 Jesus enters the city and goes directly to the temple, underscoring that the temple is the object of attention ...
1079. Future Glory
Romans 8:18-27
Understanding Series
James R. Edwards
... in us. Consider (logizesthai) implies not a mere opinion but a statement of gravity, an authoritative judgment. The sufferings of the present seem slight when compared to the glory that will be revealed. Sufferings are not illusory or mere surface scratches, however. Some religions, like Hinduism, maintain that matter, including evil and suffering, is only an illusion, and that relief from the illusion can be achieved by proper mental control. The Bible’s testimony is vastly different. No one reading ...
Understanding Series
James R. Edwards
... branches back onto the tree as well. The end result? An unpromising sowing yields an unimaginable harvest, “thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times,” according to the parable of the sower (Mark 4:1–9). What has lain beneath the surface of Romans looms inescapably before us in verses 31–32. Disobedience leads to obedience; disbelief to faith, wrath to mercy. Human disobedience—in whatever form, from whatever people—does not jeopardize sovereign grace. The Gentiles cannot boast in their blessing ...
Understanding Series
James R. Edwards
... Pharisees with the militant nationalism of the Maccabees. Within a decade of the writing of Romans, in fact, the Zealots would plunge the nation into a disastrous revolt against Rome in A.D. 66. Nor were such sentiments confined to the Zealot party. They surfaced in a long litany of protests in the first century, including large segments of Jews refusing to pay taxes, riots in Rome and Alexandria, Jewish defiance in the face of Pontius Pilate’s blunders (governor of Palestine from A.D. 26–36), a near ...
Understanding Series
James R. Edwards
... have placed on congregations that had been under Gentile leadership for several years, and which, even under the best of circumstances, found understanding and tolerance of Jewish cultic laws in short supply. These circumstances (or something similar) appear to lie beneath the surface of 14:1–15:13. Some doubt, of course, necessarily remains about the exact conditions which Paul is addressing, but there is no doubt about his advice. To be sure, Paul counts himself among the strong (15:1), but he does not ...
1083. Marriage
1 Corinthians 7:1-40
Understanding Series
Marion L. Soards
... Corinthians had addressed to Paul. Therefore, scholars suspect and frequently suggest that some among the Corinthians were taking vows of celibacy, so Paul’s discussion of the matter in this and the following verses has a more formal religious tone than may appear at the surface level of the words. This hypothesis about the situation may be correct, since Paul has already taken up the Corinthians’ saying, “It is good for a man not to touch a woman [i.e., not to marry?],” in 7:1–7; and he refers ...
1084. Orderly Worship
1 Corinthians 14:26-40
Understanding Series
Marion L. Soards
... assertion is a rhetorical trap, designed to win a full hearing and compliance with the directions given, although the challenges fall in line with the directions he gave in 14:29. Saying that his directions are the Lord’s command seems clear on the surface, but what Paul means, where he received the decree, and how, are all open questions. Watson (First Epistle, p. 155) states that “Paul now claims for himself the right to speak for God,” but that is wrong. Paul may demonstrate a sense of authority ...
Understanding Series
Marion L. Soards
... ” (toi hagioi). This collection is best explained by Paul in Galatians 2:1–10 as something he wanted to do as a result of the conference in Jerusalem. Luke presents a secondary account of this meeting of the early church in Acts 15. On the surface this assembling of an offering can be understood as a good-will or relief effort, but consideration of the full dynamics of the project indicates that the collection was a great deal more than mere charity. Paul’s purposes, as noted in the several mentions ...
Understanding Series
W. H. Bellinger, Jr.
... conditions. If a skin inflammation has turned any hair white and has raw flesh, an ulceration, in it, it is a chronic skin disease and is unclean. Isolation is not necessary; the diagnosis is already clear. The question is whether the patchy disease is only a surface bump, a dermatitis, or a major disease. Healing is possible, but proper precautions must be taken. If the disease is all over the body, and especially if it is white, it is a chronic skin condition that is not unclean. The presence of raw flesh ...
1087. Cleansing from Mildew
Leviticus 14:33-57
Understanding Series
W. H. Bellinger, Jr.
... in the ensuing quarantine and saves them from possible destruction. This is an economic concession to the owner of the house. The priest will then inspect the house and decide whether the mildew is greenish or reddish and whether it appears to sink below the surface of the walls. A quarantine period of seven days comes next. When the priest returns, he inspects the house again to determine whether the fungus has spread. If so, the affected stones are disposed of in an unclean place outside the town. All the ...
Understanding Series
W.H. Bellinger, Jr.
... of prominence can change. The notion that God can modify the hierarchy pervades Numbers and provides a valuable perspective for a people reviewing its history. The central divine presence is an ambiguous presence; it can bless, and it can threaten. That ambiguity will surface throughout the book of Numbers. Additional Notes 2:2 The NIV rendering of the prepositions around and some distance from it are appropriate. Another way to think about it is that the camps are to be in sight of the Tent of Meeting ...
Understanding Series
W.H. Bellinger, Jr.
Rebellion at the Center: Conflict continues in chapter 12. Chapter 11 started with problems on the outskirts of the camp, which spread to the whole people. Now problems surface at the heart of the leadership, with Miriam, Aaron, and Moses. Commentators have wondered which pieces of ancient Israel’s history generated such stories to comprise Numbers traditions. Chapters 11 and 12 seem to have come from earlier materials that the Priestly tradents have used. Various attempts have been made ...
Understanding Series
W.H. Bellinger, Jr.
... divine revelation. In the first part of the book of Numbers, the people rightly ordered life as God’s people, preparing for the march toward the promised land. Their obedience was noteworthy, although danger certainly lurked just beneath the surface. In the middle section of the book, that danger became the focus of attention as murmurings in the wilderness began and then deepened. The old, wilderness generation, it seems, could be both meticulously obedient and absolutely disobedient. In the Transjordan ...
1091. David at Nob
1 Samuel 21:1-9
Understanding Series
Mary J. Evans
... as an opponent of the Israelite king, was able to leave his parents in safe custody. He remained for a while at a fortified base until a prophetic instruction sent him into Judean territory. 22:6–10 Saul reacted predictably when he learned that David had surfaced and that a group had gathered around him. He took for granted that David’s main aim was to win the hearts of even more people and draw them away from Saul by bribery. He smelled conspiracy even among the members of his own tribe. Specific ...
Understanding Series
Gerald H. Wilson
... badly in the face of his friends’ mounting critique: divine confirmation of the essentially blameless character Job knows to be true within himself. Is it possible to be so sure of our own righteousness before God? Often our pattern is to follow the surface reading of Job’s opening comment here and to affirm the general pessimism that Eliphaz expressed in 4:17–21: humans are by nature sinful and thus ultimately deserving of any suffering that comes upon them. This sort of “worm theology” (“O ...
Understanding Series
Gerald H. Wilson
... since the verb (Heb. rzm) appears only here. The NIV interprets it as an indication of the anger that verse 13 describes. The phrase vent your rage is equally difficult. The Hebrew says, literally, “that you return to God your spirit [ruakh].” On the surface this might suggest that Job’s anger against God places him in danger of giving up his life-sustaining spirit so that it returns to its source in God. While this is certainly part of the ironic and playful context in which Eliphaz speaks, most ...
Understanding Series
Gerald H. Wilson
... on the traditional retributive thinking which so influenced his early life as a sage. 24:18–20 Job begins this section by describing the tenuous nature of the wicked: they are foam (Heb. qal, “light; insignificant”) or flotsam floating on the surface of the water. Often rushing streams bear along tiny bits of leaves, wood, and other rubbish that swirl downstream in the current and eddies with no control over their ultimate destination. Such are the wicked, says Job: insignificant trash swept along ...
Understanding Series
Craig C. Broyles
... made available only to Yahweh’s worshiping congregation, and so they are “not able to stand” (36:8–12). 1:6 The only mention of a divine action in this psalm is withheld until the last verse: the LORD watches over the way of the righteous. On the surface, the fates of the righteous and the wicked have appeared to be determined by natural law: the former go the way of a tree planted by streams of water, and the latter go the way of chaff. But the process is not automatic. The enigmatic word choice in ...
Understanding Series
Craig C. Broyles
... things” (vv. 2, 3b). Verse 4 cites their arrogant speech, which asserts their self-proclaimed independence and ability to determine their own destiny. Their grand advertisements and promises may thus have drawn some of the faithful to defect from Yahweh. Another reason surfaces in the following oracle, which points to the oppression of the weak, no doubt resulting from the assertion of the wicked, “we will triumph,” presumably over the weak. 12:5 In contrast to what the arrogant tongue says (v. 4), is ...
Understanding Series
Craig C. Broyles
... individual would sleep in the precincts of the temple, and if he survived the night before Yahweh’s holy “face,” he would be judged innocent. On the other hand, other psalms speak of the night while one lies in bed as the time when in privacy one’s true heart surfaces (esp. 4:4; 16:7; 77:6; and also 6:6; 36:4; 119:55). And other psalms speak of the morning, the moment when light dispels darkness, as symbolic of salvation, newness, and hope (30:5; 46:5; 90:14; 130:6; cf. also 3:5; 4:8; Lam ...
Understanding Series
Craig C. Broyles
... deities they worship) and confesses his desire to participate in the rites of entering Yahweh’s house. As I abhor (lit. “hate”) “the assembly of evildoers” (v. 5), so I love the house where you live, O LORD (v. 8). In verse 8 there surfaces the attitude motivating the pilgrim, and in verse 7 his ultimate intention: proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds. 26:9–11 The petitions of verses 9 and 11 seek to distinguish the speaker from sinners by Yahweh’s “redeeming ...
Understanding Series
Craig C. Broyles
... as refuge, and what is known publicly and socially, namely, slander and alienation. Resolution is experienced in two stages: first in terms of protection, then as public vindication (esp. v. 19). The key motif that makes this psalm work is Yahweh’s love (Hb. ḥesed), which surfaces in each of its four major sections (vv. 7, 16, 21; in v. 23 “his saints” is ḥasîdāyw, or “his loved ones”). Additional Notes 31:6 I trust in the LORD: Although Yahweh is here referred to in the third person, this ...
Understanding Series
Craig C. Broyles
... the people of the world are to revere him (v. 8), but there is one people he chose for his inheritance (v. 12). We must observe that God’s people are not here defined by political or ethnic criteria (“Israel” is not named). Yahweh’s criteria surface in the following universal and particular claims: although from heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind (v. 13), the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, in particular, that is, he watches over them to deliver them from death (vv. 18–19 ...
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