Topic
Violence, Violent
2 passages cited, from 1 classic reference work.
These works date from 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 They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently.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.
- Matthew 11:12ISBE
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
- Luke 16:16ISBE
The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
In the reference works
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 2 references
vi'-o-lens; vi'-o-lent: Chiefly for gazal, qamac; bia, and their derivatives. Difficulty is offered only by the very obscure passage Mt 11:12 parallel Lu 16:16. Both Matthew and Luke contain the verb biazetai, but this form maybe either a middle, "presses violently," "storms," or a passive, "is forced." Matthew, in addition, contains the adjective biastai, but whether this is a term of praise, "heroic enthusiasts," or of blame, "hot-headed revolutionaries," is again a problem. Nor can it be determined whether the words "from the days of John the Baptist until now" are meant to include or exclude the work of the Baptist himself. The difference in wording in Matthew and Luke further complicates the problem, and, in consequence, scholars are widely at variance as to the proper interpretation. "The Baptist has fanned a new Messianic storm of ill-advised insurrection," "the Pharisees have shamefully used forcible suppression of God's teachers," "the Kingdom of God comes like a storm and is received by those who have used drastic self-discipline," are instances of the differing explanations proposed.
Burton Scott Easton
Texts: 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.