Topic
Obeisance
7 passages cited, from 2 classic reference works.
These works date from 1897–1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Genesis 43:28Easton · ISBE
And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.
- Genesis 24:26ISBE
And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.
- Genesis 33:6ISBE
Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.
- Genesis 33:7ISBE
And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.
- Genesis 37:7Easton
For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
- 2 Samuel 15:5ISBE
And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him.
- 2 Chronicles 24:17ISBE
Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them.
In the reference works
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 6 references
o-ba'-sans: It is used 9 times in the King James Version in the phrase "made (or did) obeisance" as a rendering of the reflexive form of (shachah), and denotes the bow or curtsey indicative of deference and respect. The same form of the verb is sometimes translated "to bow one's self" when it expresses the deferential attitude of one person to another (Ge 33:6,7, etc.). Occasionally the vow of homage or fealty to a king on the part of a subject is suggested. In Joseph's dream his brother's sheaves made obeisance to his sheaf (Ge 43:28; compare also 2Sa 15:5; 2Ch 24:17). But in a large number of instances the verb denotes the prostrate posture of the worshipper in the presence of Deity, and is generally rendered, "to worship" in the King James Version. In all probability this was the original significance of the word (Ge 24:26, etc.). Obeisance (= obedience) originally signified the vow of obedience made by a vassal to his lord or a slave to his master, but in time denoted the act of bowing as a token of respect.
T. Lewis
Texts: Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897); International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.