Bible Encyclopedia: Death

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

BODY OF DEATH

deth (soma tou thanatou): These words are found in Paul's impassioned argument on the reign of the law, which dooms man to continuous disappointment and convinces him of the terrible power of indwelling sin. "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:24 the King James Version). It is the "picture of the still unredeemed man in his relation to the law" (Meyer). The translation, "this body of death," though grammatically possible, is logically impermissible. The picture here before the mind of the apostle is not physical but ethical. Death points to the dominion of sin, to the reign of the law, as revealed in his physical life, from which he is delivered only through regeneration, by faith in Christ. It points to the "I must" and to the "I cannot." It is therefore the bondage under the law of sin, the body as the seat of this conscious and bitter struggle, that the figure points at. And yet the ethical may have a physical background. There may be a distant reference here to the dreadful punishment of the ancients of chaining the living body to a corpse, that the constant corruption of death might extinguish the life of the victim of this exquisite torture.

Henry E. Dosker

DEATH

(maweth; thanatos):

PHYSIOLOGICAL AND FIGURATIVE VIEW

The word "Death" is used in the sense of

(1) the process of dying (Genesis 21:16);

(2) the period of decease (Genesis 27:7);

(3) as a possible synonym for poison (2 Kings 4:40);

(4) as descriptive of person in danger of perishing (Judges 15:18; "in deaths oft" 2 Corinthians 11:23). In this sense the shadow of death is a familiar expression in Job, the Psalms and the Prophets;

(5) death is personified in 1 Corinthians 15:55 and Revelation 20:14. Deliverance from this catastrophe is called the "issues from death" (Psalm 68:20 the King James Version; translated "escape" in the Revised Version (British and American)). Judicial execution, "putting to death," is mentioned 39 times in the Levitical Law.

Figuratively: Death is the loss of spiritual life as in Romans 8:6; and the final state of the unregenerate is called the "second death" in Revelation 20:14.

Alex. Macalister

THEOLOGICAL VIEW

1. Conception of Sin and Death:

According to Genesis 2:17, God gave to man, created in His own image, the command not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and added thereto the warning, "in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." Though not exclusively, reference is certainly made here in the first place to bodily death. Yet because death by no means came upon Adam and Eve on the day of their transgression, but took place hundreds of years later, the expression, "in the day that," must be conceived in a wider sense, or the delay of death must be attributed to the entering-in of mercy (Genesis 3:15).

However this may be, Genesis 2:17 places a close connection between man's death and his transgression of God's commandment, thereby attaching to death a religious and ethical significance, and on the other hand makes the life of man dependent on his obedience to God. This religious-ethical nature of life and death is not only decidedly and clearly expressed in Genesis 2, but it is the fundamental thought of the whole of Scripture and forms an essential element in the revelations of salvation. The theologians of early and more recent times, who have denied the spiritual significance of death and have separated the connection between ethical and physical life, usually endeavor to trace back their opinions to Scripture; and those passages which undoubtedly see in death a punishment for sin (Genesis 2:17 John 8:44 Romans 5:12; Romans 6:23 1 Corinthians 15:21), they take as individual opinions, which form no part of the organism of revelation. But this endeavor shuts out the organic character of the revelation of salvation. It is true that death in Holy Scripture is often measured by the weakness and frailty of human nature (Genesis 3:19 Job 14:1, 12 Psalm 39:5, 6; Psalm 90:5; Psalm 103:14, 15 Ecclesiastes 3:20, etc.).

Death is seldom connected with the transgression of the first man either in the Old Testament or the New Testament, or mentioned as a specified punishment for sin (John 8:44 Romans 5:12; Romans 6:23 1 Corinthians 15:21 James 1:15); for the most part it is portrayed as something natural (Genesis 5:5; Genesis 9:29; Genesis 15:15; Genesis 25:8, etc.), a long life being presented as a blessing in contrast to death in the midst of days as a disaster and a judgment (Psalm 102:23 Isaiah 65:20). But all this is not contrary to the idea that death is a consequence of, and a punishment for, sin. Daily, everyone who agrees with Scripture that death is held out as a punishment for sin, speaks in the same way. Death, though come into the world through sin, is nevertheless at the same time a consequence of man's physical and frail existence now; it could therefore be threatened as a punishment to man, because he was taken out of the ground and was made a living soul, of the earth earthy (Genesis 2:7 1 Corinthians 15:45, 47). If he had remained obedient, he would not have returned to dust (Genesis 3:19), but have pressed forward on the path of spiritual development (1 Corinthians 15:46, 51); his return to dust was possible simply because he was made from dust (see ADAM IN THE NEW TESTAMENT). Thus, although death is in this way a consequence of sin, yet a long life is felt to be a blessing and death a disaster and a judgment, above all when man is taken away in the bloom of his youth or the strength of his years. There is nothing strange, therefore, in the manner in which Scripture speaks about death; we all express ourselves daily in the same way, though we at the same time consider it as the wages of sin. Beneath the ordinary, everyday expressions about death lies the deep consciousness that it is unnatural and contrary to our innermost being.

2. The Meaning of Death:

This is decidedly expressed in Scripture much more so even than among ourselves. For we are influenced always more or less by the Greek, Platonic idea, that the body dies, yet the soul is immortal. Such an idea is utterly contrary to the Israelite consciousness, and is nowhere found in the Old Testament. The whole man dies, when in death the spirit (Psalm 146:4 Ecclesiastes 12:7), or soul (Genesis 35:18 2 Samuel 1:9 1 Kings 17:21 Jonah 4:3), goes out of a man. Not only his body, but his soul also returns to a state of death and belongs to the nether-world; therefore the Old Testament can speak of a death of one's soul (Genesis 37:21 (Hebrew); Numbers 23:10 m; Deuteronomy 22:21 Judges 16:30 Job 36:14 Psalm 78:50), and of defilement by coming in contact with a dead body (Leviticus 19:28; Leviticus 21:11; Leviticus 22:4 Numbers 5:2; Numbers 6:6; Numbers 9:6; Numbers 19:10 Deuteronomy 14:1 Haggai 2:13). This death of man is not annihilation, however, but a deprivation of all that makes for life on earth. The Sheol (she'ol) is in contrast with the land of the living in every respect (Job 28:13 Proverbs 15:24 Ezekiel 26:20; Ezekiel 32:23); it is an abode of darkness and the shadow of death (Job 10:21, 22 Psalm 88:12; Psalm 143:3), a place of destruction, yea destruction itself (Job 26:6; Job 28:22; Job 31:12 Psalm 88:11 Proverbs 27:20), without any order (Job 10:22), a land of rest, of silence, of oblivion (Job 3:13, 17, 18 Psalm 94:17; Psalm 115:17), where God and man are no longer to be seen (Isaiah 38:11), God no longer praised or thanked (Psalm 6:5; Psalm 115:17), His perfections no more acknowledged (Psalm 88:10-13 Isaiah 38:18, 19), His wonders not contemplated (Psalm 88:12), where the dead are unconscious, do no more work, take no account of anything, possess no knowledge nor wisdom, neither have any more a portion in anything that is done under the sun (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10). The dead ("the Shades" the Revised Version, margin; compare article DECEASE) are asleep (Job 26:5 Proverbs 2:18; Proverbs 9:18; Proverbs 21:6 Psalm 88:11 Isaiah 14:9), weakened (Isaiah 14:10) and without strength (Psalm 88:4).

3. Light in the Darkness:

The dread of death was felt much more deeply therefore by the Israelites than by ourselves. Death to them was separation from all that they loved, from God, from His service, from His law, from His people, from His land, from all the rich companionship in which they lived. But now in this darkness appears the light of the revelation of salvation from on high. The God of Israel is the living God and the fountain of all life (Deuteronomy 5:26 Joshua 3:10 Psalm 36:9). He is the Creator of heaven and earth, whose power knows no bounds and whose dominion extends over life and death (Deuteronomy 32:39 1 Samuel 2:6 Psalm 90:3). He gave life to man (Genesis 1:26; Genesis 2:7), and creates and sustains every man still (Job 32:8; Job 33:4; Job 34:14 Psalm 104:29 Ecclesiastes 12:7). He connects life with the keeping of His law and appoints death for the transgression of it (Genesis 2:17 Leviticus 18:5 Deuteronomy 30:20; Deuteronomy 32:47). He lives in heaven, but is present also by His spirit in Sheol (Psalm 139:7, 8). Sheol and Abaddon are open to Him even as the hearts of the children of men (Job 26:6; Job 38:17 Proverbs 15:11). He kills and makes alive, brings down into Sheol and raises from thence again (Deuteronomy 32:39 1 Samuel 2:6 2 Kings 5:7). He lengthens life for those who keep His commandments (Exodus 20:12 Job 5:26), gives escape from death, can deliver when death menaces (Psalm 68:20 Isaiah 38:5 Jeremiah 15:20 Daniel 3:26), can take Enoch and Elijah to Himself without dying (Genesis 5:24 2 Kings 2:11), can restore the dead to life (1 Kings 17:22 2 Kings 4:34; 2 Kings 13:21). He can even bring death wholly to nothing and completely triumph over its power by rising from the dead (Job 14:13-15; Job 19:25-27 Hosea 6:2; Hosea 13:14 Isaiah 25:8; Isaiah 26:19 Ezekiel 37:11, 12 Daniel 12:2).

4. Spiritual Significance:

This revelation by degrees rejects the old contrast between life on earth and the disconsolate existence after death, in the dark place of Sheol, and puts another in its place. The physical contrast between life and death gradually makes way for the moral and spiritual difference between a life spent in the fear of the Lord, and a life in the service of sin. The man who serves God is alive (Genesis 2:17); life is involved in the keeping of His commandments (Leviticus 18:5 Deuteronomy 30:20); His word is life (Deuteronomy 8:3; Deuteronomy 32:47). Life is still for the most part understood to mean length of days (Proverbs 2:18; Proverbs 3:16; Proverbs 10:30 Isaiah 65:20). Nevertheless it is remarkable that Proverbs often mentions death and Sheol in connection with the godless (Proverbs 2:18; Proverbs 5:5; Proverbs 7:27; Proverbs 9:18), and on the other hand only speaks of life in connection with the righteous. Wisdom, righteousness, the fear of the Lord is the way of life (Proverbs 8:35, 36; Proverbs 11:19; Proverbs 12:28; Proverbs 13:14; Proverbs 14:27; Proverbs 19:23). The wicked is driven away in his wickedness, but the righteous hath hope in his death (Proverbs 14:32). Blessed is he who has the Lord for his God (Deuteronomy 33:29 Psalm 1:1, 2; Psalm 2:12; Psalm 32:1, 2; 33:12:00; 34:9, etc.); he is comforted in the greatest adversity (Psalm 73:25-28 Habakkuk 3:17-19), and sees a light arise for him behind physical death (Genesis 49:18 Job 14:13-15; Job 16:16-21; 19:25-27 Psalm 73:23-26). The godless on the contrary, although enjoying for a time much prosperity, perish and come to an end (Psalm 1:4-6; Psalm 73:18-20 Isaiah 48:22 Malachi 4:3, etc.).

The righteous of the Old Testament truly are continually occupied with the problem that the lot of man on earth often corresponds so little to his spiritual worth, but he strengthens himself with the conviction that for the righteous it will be well, and for the wicked, ill (Ecclesiastes 8:12, 13 Isaiah 3:10, 11). If they do not realize it in the present, they look forward to the future and hope for the day in which God's justice will extend salvation to the righteous, and His anger will be visited on the wicked in judgment. So in the Old Testament the revelation of the new covenant is prepared wherein Christ by His appearance hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (2 Timothy 1:10). SeeABOLISH. This everlasting life is already here on earth presented to man by faith, and it is his portion also in the hour of death (John 3:36; John 11:25, 26). On the other hand, he who lives in sin and is disobedient to the Son of God, is in his living dead (Matthew 8:22 Luke 15:32 John 3:36; John 8:24 Ephesians 2:1 Colossians 2:13); he shall never see life, but shall pass by bodily death into the second death (Revelation 2:11; Revelation 20:6, 14; 21:8).

5. Death in Non-Christian Religions and in Science:

This view of Scripture upon death goes much deeper than that which is found in other religions, but it nevertheless receives support from the unanimous witness of humanity with regard to its unnaturalness and dread. The so-called nature-peoples even feel that death is much more of an enigma than life; Tiele (Inleiding tot de goddienst-artenschap, II (1900), 202, referring to Andrew Lang, Modern Mythology, chapter xiii) says rightly, that all peoples have the conviction that man by nature is immortal, that immortality wants no proof, but that death is a mystery and must be explained. Touching complaints arise in the hearts of all men on the frailty and vanity of life, and the whole of mankind fears death as a mysterious power. Man finds comfort in death only when he hopes it will be an end to a still more miserable life. Seneca may be taken as interpreter of some philosophers when he says: Stultitia est timore morris mori ("It is stupid to die through the fear of death") and some may be able, like a Socrates or a Cato, to face death calmly and courageously; what have these few to say to the millions, who through fear of death are all their lifetime subject to bondage (Hebrews 2:15)? Such a mystery has death remained up to the present day. It may be said with Kassowitz, Verworm and others that the "cell" is the beginning, and the old, gray man is the natural end of an uninterrupted life-development, or with Metschnikoff, that science will one day so lengthen life that it will fade away like a rose at last and death lose all its dread; death still is no less a riddle, and one which swallows up all the strength of life. When one considers, besides, that a number of creatures, plants, trees, animals, reach a much higher age than man; that the larger half of mankind dies before or shortly after birth; that another large percentage dies in the bloom of youth or in the prime of life; that the law of the survival of the fittest is true only when the fact of the survival is taken as a proof of their fitness; that the graybeards, who, spent and decrepit, go down to the grave, form a very small number; then the enigma of death increases more and more in mysteriousness.

The endeavors to bring death into connection with certain activities of the organism and to explain it by increasing weight, by growth or by fertility, have all led to shipwreck. When Weismann took refuge in the immortality of the "einzellige Protozoen," he raised a hypothesis which not only found many opponents, but which also left mortality of the "Korperplasma" an insoluble mystery (Beth, "Ueber Ursache und Zweck des Todes, Glauben und Wissen" (1909), 285-304, 335-48). Thus, science certainly does not compel us to review Scripture on this point, but rather furnishes a strong proof of the mysterious majesty of death. When Pelagius, Socinus, Schleiermacher, Ritschl and a number of other theologians and philosophers separate death from its connection with sin, they are not compelled to do so by science, but are led by a defective insight into the relation between ethos and phusis. Misery and death are not absolutely always consequences and punishment of a great personal transgression (Luke 13:2 John 9:3); but that they are connected with sin, we learn from the experience of every day. Who can number the victims of mammonism, alcoholism and licentiousness? Even spiritual sins exercise their influence on corporal life; envy is a rottenness of the bones (Proverbs 14:30). This connection is taught us in a great measure by Scripture, when it placed the not yet fallen man in a Paradise, where death had not yet entered, and eternal life was not yet possessed and enjoyed; when it sends fallen man, who, however, is destined for redemption, into a world full of misery and death; and at last assigns to the wholly renewed man a new heaven and a new earth, where death, sorrow, crying or pain shall no longer exist (Revelation 21:4). Finally, Scripture is not the book of death, but of life, of everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord. It tells us, in oft-repeated and unmistakable terms, of the dreaded reality of death, but it proclaims to us still more loudly the wonderful power of the life which is in Christ Jesus. See also DECEASE.

Herman Bavinck

DEATH, SECOND

(ho deuteros thanatos): An expression, peculiar to the Book of Rev.(Revelation 2:11; Revelation 20:6, 14; 21:8) in Scripture, denoting the final penalty of the unrighteous; parallel with another expression likewise peculiar, "the lake of fire," in Revelation 20:14; Revelation 21:8. See ESCHATOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.

SECOND DEATH

See DEATH; ESCHATOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, sec. X, (6).

SHADOW OF DEATH

(tsalmaweth): The Hebrew word translated "shadow of death" is used poetically for thick darkness (Job 3:5), as descriptive of Sheol (Job 10:21; Job 12:22; Job 38:17); figuratively of deep distress (Job 12:22; Job 16:16; Job 24:17; Job 28:3; Job 34:22 (in the last three passages the American Standard Revised Version has "thick darkness" and "thick gloom"); Psalm 23:4, the Revised Version margin "deep darkness (and so elsewhere)"; 44:19:00; 107:10, 14; Isaiah 9:2 Jeremiah 2:6; Jeremiah 13:16 Amos 5:8 Matthew 4:16 Luke 1:79, skia thanatou). The Hebrew word is perhaps composed of tsel, "shadow," and maweth, "death," and the idea of "the valley of the shadow of death" was most probably derived from the deep ravines, darkened by over-hanging briars, etc., through which the shepherd had sometimes to lead or drive his sheep to new and better pastures.

W. L. Walker

DEATH, BODY OF

See BODY OF DEATH.

Greek

2289. thanatoo -- to put to death
... to put to death. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: thanatoo Phonetic Spelling:
(than-at-o'-o) Short Definition: I put to death, subdue Definition: I put to ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2289.htm - 7k

1935. epithanatios -- condemned to death
... condemned to death. Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: epithanatios Phonetic
Spelling: (ep-ee-than-at'-ee-os) Short Definition: at the point of death ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1935.htm - 6k

2288. thanatos -- death
... death. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: thanatos Phonetic Spelling:
(than'-at-os) Short Definition: death Definition: death, physical or ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2288.htm - 7k

5054. teleute -- a finishing, end, ie death
... a finishing, end, ie death. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: teleute
Phonetic Spelling: (tel-yoo-tay') Short Definition: end of life, death ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5054.htm - 6k

3500. nekrosis -- a putting to death, a state of death
... a putting to death, a state of death. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration:
nekrosis Phonetic Spelling: (nek'-ro-sis) Short Definition: putting to ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3500.htm - 6k

2287. thanatephoros -- death-bringing
... death-bringing. Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: thanatephoros Phonetic
Spelling: (than-at-ay'-for-os) Short Definition: death-bringing, deadly ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2287.htm - 6k

3499. nekroo -- to put to death
... to put to death. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: nekroo Phonetic Spelling:
(nek-ro'-o) Short Definition: I put to death, render weak Definition: lit. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3499.htm - 7k

2349. thnetos -- subject to death
... subject to death. Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: thnetos Phonetic Spelling:
(thnay-tos') Short Definition: mortal Definition: mortal, subject to ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2349.htm - 6k

3639. olethros -- destruction, death
... destruction, death. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: olethros Phonetic
Spelling: (ol'-eth-ros) Short Definition: ruin, doom, destruction ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3639.htm - 6k

1454. egersis -- a rousing, a rising (from death)
... a rousing, a rising (from death). Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration:
egersis Phonetic Spelling: (eg'-er-sis) Short Definition: a waking up ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1454.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

4194. maveth -- death
... 4193, 4194. maveth. 4195 . death. Transliteration: maveth Phonetic Spelling:
(maw'-veth) Short Definition: death. Word Origin from ...
/hebrew/4194.htm - 6k

8546. timuthah -- death
... 8545, 8546. timuthah. 8547 . death. Transliteration: timuthah Phonetic
Spelling: (tem-oo-thaw') Short Definition: death. Word Origin ...
/hebrew/8546.htm - 6k

4193. moth -- death.
... death. Transliteration: moth Phonetic Spelling: (mohth) Short Definition: death.
Word Origin (Aramaic) corresponding to maveth Definition death. death ...
/hebrew/4193.htm - 5k

6757. tsalmaveth -- death-like shadow, deep shadow
... tsalmaveth. 6758 . death-like shadow, deep shadow. Transliteration: tsalmaveth
Phonetic Spelling: (tsal-maw'-veth) Short Definition: darkness. ... shadow of death. ...
/hebrew/6757.htm - 6k

4463. mamoth -- death
... 4462, 4463. mamoth. 4464 . death. Transliteration: mamoth Phonetic Spelling:
(maw-mothe') Short Definition: deadly. Word ... 1). death. ...
/hebrew/4463.htm - 6k

3451. yeshimah -- let death seize
... 3450, 3451. yeshimah. 3452 . let death seize. Transliteration: yeshimah Phonetic
Spelling: (yesh-ee-maw') Short Definition: death. ... let death seize ...
/hebrew/3451.htm - 5k

4191. muth -- to die
... root Definition to die NASB Word Usage body (1), bring about my death (1), bring
death (1), caused the death (1), certainly die (1), certainly put (1 ...
/hebrew/4191.htm - 7k

287. Achimoth -- "my brother is death," a Levite
... 286, 287. Achimoth. 288 . "my brother is death," a Levite. Transliteration:
Achimoth Phonetic Spelling: (akh-ee-moth') Short Definition: Ahimoth. ...
/hebrew/287.htm - 6k

7585. sheol -- underworld (place to which people descend at death)
... underworld (place to which people descend at death). Transliteration: sheol or
sheol Phonetic Spelling: (sheh-ole') Short Definition: Sheol. ...
/hebrew/7585.htm - 6k

5820. Azmaveth -- "strong (one) of death," four Israelites
... Azmaveth. 5820a . "strong (one) of death," four Israelites. Transliteration: Azmaveth
Phonetic Spelling: (az-maw'-veth) Short Definition: Azmaveth. Azmaveth ...
/hebrew/5820.htm - 5k

Library

Death
... DEATH. ... LESLIE STEPHEN. "To be carnally minded is Death.""Paul. "I do not wonder at
what men suffer, but I wonder often at what they lose.""Ruskin. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/drummond/natural law in the spiritual world/death.htm

The Death of Christ
The Death of Christ. <. The Death of Christ James Denney. Table of Contents.
Title Page. FOREWORD. PREFACE. DETAILED CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/denney/the death of christ/

The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ
The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ. <. The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ
James Stalker. Produced by Al Haines Table of Contents. Title Page. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/stalker/the trial and death of jesus christ/

Submission to Divine Providence in the Death of Children
Submission to Divine Providence in the Death of Children. <. Submission
to Divine Providence in the Death of Children Phillip Doddridge. ...
/.../doddridge/submission to divine providence in the death of children/

The Death of Death
... CORINTHIANS (To II Corinthians, Chap. V) THE DEATH OF DEATH. ... For since by man came
death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead....50. ...
/.../maclaren/romans corinthians to ii corinthians chap v/the death of death.htm

Death-Grapples
... BOOK IV DEATH-GRAPPLES. I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano; A stage, where
every man must play a part,. And mine a sad one. Merchant of Venice, I.1. ...
/.../farrar/gathering clouds a tale of the days of st chrysostom/death-grapples.htm

The Death of the Righteous
... 7. Death and the last day 1. The Death Of The Righteous. 'For to me to live is Christ,
and to die is gain.' Philippians 1: ... To a believer death is great gain. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watson/a body of divinity/1 the death of the.htm

Death, the Friend
... CORINTHIANS (To II Corinthians, Chap. V) DEATH, THE FRIEND. '... All things
are yours ... death.'"1 Corinthians 3:21, 22. What ...
/.../maclaren/romans corinthians to ii corinthians chap v/death the friend.htm

A Death in the Desert
... THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY A DEATH IN THE DESERT. 'So Moses the servant of
the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/a death in the desert.htm

Death.
... XXIV. DEATH. ... And the time of need is the day of death, when I am to pack
up all to be gone from hence, the way of all the earth. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bunyan/the riches of bunyan/xxiv death.htm

ATS Bible Dictionary

Death

Is taken in Scripture, first, for the separation of body and soul, the first death, Genesis 25:11; secondly, for alienation from God, and exposure to his wrath, 1 John 3:14, etc.; thirdly, for the second death, that of eternal damnation. Death was the penalty affixed to Adam's transgression, Genesis 2:17 3:19; and all his posterity are transgressors, and share the curse inflicted upon him. CHRIST is "our life." All believers share his life, spiritually and eternally; and though sin and bodily is taken away, and in the resurrection the last enemy shall be trampled under foot, Romans 5:12-21 1 1 Corinthians 15:1-58.

Natural death is described as a yielding up of the breath, or spirit, expiring, Psalm 104:29; as a return to our original dust, Genesis 3:19 Ecclesiastes 12:7; as the soul's laying off the body, its clothing, 2 1 Corinthians 5:3,4, or the tent in which it has dwelt, 2 1 Corinthians 5:1 2 Peter 1:13,14. The death of the believer is a departure, a going home, a falling asleep in Jesus, Philippians 1:23 Matthew 26:24 John 11:11.

The term death is also sometimes used for any great calamity, or imminent danger threatening life, as persecution, 2 1 Corinthians 1:10. "The gates of death," Job 38:17, signify the unseen world occupied by departed spirits. Death is also figuratively used to denote the insensibility of Christians to the temptations of a sinful world, Colossians 3:3.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

May be simply defined as the termination of life. It is represented under a variety of aspects in Scripture:

(1.) "The dust shall return to the earth as it was" (Ecclesiastes 12:7).

(2.) "Thou takest away their breath, they die" (Psalm 104:29).

(3.) It is the dissolution of "our earthly house of this tabernacle" (2 Corinthians 5:1); the "putting off this tabernacle" (2 Peter 1:13, 14).

(4.) Being "unclothed" (2 Corinthians 5:3, 4).

(5.) "Falling on sleep" (Psalm 76:5; Jeremiah 51:39; Acts 13:36; 2 Peter 3:9.

(6.) "I go whence I shall not return" (Job 10:21); "Make me to know mine end" (Psalm 39:4); "to depart" (Philippians 1:23).

The grave is represented as "the gates of death" (Job 38:17; Psalm 9:13; 107:18). The gloomy silence of the grave is spoken of under the figure of the "shadow of death" (Jeremiah 2:6).

Death is the effect of sin (Hebrews 2:14), and not a "debt of nature." It is but once (9:27), universal (Genesis 3:19), necessary (Luke 2:28-30). Jesus has by his own death taken away its sting for all his followers (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

There is a spiritual death in trespasses and sins, i.e., the death of the soul under the power of sin (Romans 8:6; Ephesians 2:1, 3; Colossians 2:13).

The "second death" (Revelation 2:11) is the everlasting perdition of the wicked (Revelation 21:8), and "second" in respect to natural or temporal death.

THE DEATH OF CHRIST is the procuring cause incidentally of all the blessings men enjoy on earth. But specially it is the procuring cause of the actual salvation of all his people, together with all the means that lead thereto. It does not make their salvation merely possible, but certain (Matthew 18:11; Romans 5:10; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 1:4; 3:13; Ephesians 1:7; 2:16; Romans 8:32-35).

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) The cessation of all vital phenomena without capability of resuscitation, either in animals or plants.

2. (v. i.) Total privation or loss; extinction; cessation; as, the death of memory.

3. (v. i.) Manner of dying; act or state of passing from life.

4. (v. i.) Cause of loss of life.

5. (v. i.) Personified: The destroyer of life, -- conventionally represented as a skeleton with a scythe.

6. (v. i.) Danger of death.

7. (v. i.) Murder; murderous character.

8. (v. i.) Loss of spiritual life.

9. (v. i.) Anything so dreadful as to be like death.

Topical Bible Verses

1 Corinthians 15:51
Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
Topicalbible.org

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Topicalbible.org

Hebrews 9:27
And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Topicalbible.org

Hebrews 2:15
And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Topicalbible.org

Romans 8:13
For if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live.
Topicalbible.org

1 Thessalonians 4:14
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
Topicalbible.org

Ecclesiastes 7:1
A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.
Topicalbible.org

Ecclesiastes 9:5
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Topicalbible.org

Romans 5:12
Why, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed on all men, for that all have sinned:
Topicalbible.org

Psalm 115:17
The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
Topicalbible.org

Thesaurus

Death (1610 Occurrences)
... The grave is represented as "the gates of death" (Job 38:17; Psalm 9:13;
107:18). The gloomy silence of the grave is spoken of under ...
/d/death.htm - 68k

Death-shade (16 Occurrences)
Death-shade. Death's, Death-shade. Death-stroke . Multi-Version Concordance
Death-shade (16 Occurrences). Luke 1:79 To give light ...
/d/death-shade.htm - 10k

Death-blow (6 Occurrences)
Death-blow. Death, Death-blow. Death-bringing . Multi-Version Concordance
Death-blow (6 Occurrences). Acts 7:24 And seeing one of ...
/d/death-blow.htm - 8k

Death-wound (3 Occurrences)
Death-wound. Death-stroke, Death-wound. Debar . Multi-Version
Concordance Death-wound (3 Occurrences). Revelation 13 ...
/d/death-wound.htm - 7k

Death-stroke (2 Occurrences)
Death-stroke. Death-shade, Death-stroke. Death-wound . Multi-Version
Concordance Death-stroke (2 Occurrences). Revelation 13:3 And ...
/d/death-stroke.htm - 7k

Death-giving (3 Occurrences)
Death-giving. Death-bringing, Death-giving. Deathly . Multi-Version
Concordance Death-giving (3 Occurrences). 2 Kings ...
/d/death-giving.htm - 7k

Death's (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version Concordance Death's (1 Occurrence). Job 18:13 It consumeth the parts
of his skin, Consume his parts doth death's first-born. (YLT NIV). ...
/d/death's.htm - 6k

Death-bringing (1 Occurrence)
Death-bringing. Death-blow, Death-bringing. Death-giving . Multi-Version
Concordance Death-bringing (1 Occurrence). James 3:8 but ...
/d/death-bringing.htm - 6k

Shades (29 Occurrences)
... Shades (29 Occurrences). Matthew 4:16 The people who sat in darkness, saw great
light; and to them who sat in the region and shades of death, light hath arisen. ...
/s/shades.htm - 13k

Sting (5 Occurrences)
... In the free quotation of 1 Corinthians 15:55 from Hosea 13:14, death is personified
as a deadly animal, like a scorpion or serpent, which inflicts destruction ...
/s/sting.htm - 10k

Bible Concordance

Death (1610 Occurrences)

Matthew 2:13 And when they had gone, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream, saying, Get up and take the young child and his mother, and go into Egypt, and do not go from there till I give you word; for Herod will be searching for the young child to put him to death.
(BBE)

Matthew 2:15 and was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called my son."
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Matthew 2:16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was very angry; and he sent out, and put to death all the male children in Beth-lehem and in all the parts round about it, from two years old and under, acting on the knowledge which he had got with care from the wise men.
(BBE)

Matthew 2:19 But after Herod's death an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said to him,
(WEY)

Matthew 4:16 the people who sat in darkness saw a great light, to those who sat in the region and shadow of death, to them light has dawned."
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Matthew 5:21 You have knowledge that it was said in old times, You may not put to death; and, Whoever puts to death will be in danger of being judged:
(BBE)

Matthew 10:21 "Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Matthew 12:14 But the Pharisees went out and made designs against him, how they might put him to death.
(BBE)

Matthew 14:5 When he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE WBS NAS RSV)

Matthew 15:4 For God commanded,'Honor your father and your mother,' and,'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.'
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Matthew 16:18 I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades
(See RSV)

Matthew 16:21 From this time Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer much cruelty from the Elders and the High Priests and the Scribes, and be put to death, and on the third day be raised to life again.
(WEY BBE YLT)

Matthew 16:28 Most certainly I tell you, there are some standing here who will in no way taste of death, until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom."
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Matthew 17:23 they will put Him to death, but on the third day He will be raised to life again." And they were exceedingly distressed.
(WEY BBE)

Matthew 19:18 He says to him, Which? And Jesus said, Do not put anyone to death, Do not be untrue in married life, Do not take what is not yours, Do not give false witness,
(BBE)

Matthew 20:18 "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death,
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Matthew 20:19 And will give him up to the Gentiles to be made sport of and to be whipped and to be put to death on the cross: and the third day he will come back again from the dead.
(BBE YLT)

Matthew 21:35 And the workmen made an attack on his servants, giving blows to one, putting another to death, and stoning another.
(BBE)

Matthew 21:38 But when the workmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is he who will one day be the owner of the property; come, let us put him to death and take his heritage.
(BBE)

Matthew 21:39 And they took him and, driving him out of the vine-garden, put him to death.
(BBE)

Matthew 21:41 "He will put the wretches to a wretched death," was the reply, "and will entrust the vineyard to other vine-dressers who will render the produce to him at the vintage season."
(WEY BBE RSV)

Matthew 22:4 Again he sent out other servants, with orders to say to the guests, See, I have made ready my feast: my oxen and my fat beasts have been put to death, and all things are ready: come to the feast.
(BBE)

Matthew 22:6 And the rest put violent hands on his servants, and did evil to them, and put them to death.
(BBE)

Matthew 22:7 But the king was angry; and he sent his armies, and those who had put his servants to death he gave to destruction, burning down their town with fire.
(BBE)

Matthew 22:24 Master, Moses said, If a man, at the time of his death, has no children, let his brother take his wife, and get a family for his brother;
(BBE)

Matthew 22:25 Now there were among us seven brothers; and the first was married and at his death, having no seed, gave his wife to his brother;
(BBE)

Matthew 23:31 So that you are witnesses against yourselves that you are the sons of those who put the prophets to death.
(BBE)

Matthew 23:34 "For this reason I am sending to you Prophets and wise men and Scribes. Some of them you will put to death--nay, crucify; some of them you will flog in your synagogues and chase from town to town;
(WEY BBE)

Matthew 23:35 So that on you may come all the blood of the upright on the earth, from the blood of upright Abel to the blood of Zachariah, son of Barachiah, whom you put to death between the Temple and the altar.
(BBE)

Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, putting to death the prophets, and stoning those who are sent to her! Again and again would I have taken your children to myself as a bird takes her young ones under her wings, and you would not!
(BBE)

Matthew 24:9 "At that time they will deliver you up to punishment and will put you to death; and you will be objects of hatred to all the nations because you are called by my name.
(WEY BBE RSV NIV)

Matthew 26:2 After two days is the Passover, and the Son of man will be given up to the death of the cross.
(BBE)

Matthew 26:4 and consulted how to get Jesus into their power by stratagem and put Him to death.
(WEY BBE)

Matthew 26:31 Then said Jesus to them, All of you will be turned away from me this night: for it is said in the Writings, I will put to death the keeper of the sheep, and the sheep of the flock will be put to flight.
(BBE)

Matthew 26:35 Peter says to him, Even if I am put to death with you, I will not be false to you. So said all the disciples.
(BBE)

Matthew 26:38 Then he said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here, and watch with me."
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Matthew 26:52 Then says Jesus to him, Put up your sword again into its place: for all those who take the sword will come to death by the sword.
(BBE)

Matthew 26:59 Now the chief priests, the elders, and the whole council sought false testimony against Jesus, that they might put him to death;
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Matthew 26:66 What do you think?" They answered, "He is worthy of death!"
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Matthew 27:1 Now when morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Matthew 27:3 Then Judas, who was false to him, seeing that he was to be put to death, in his regret took back the thirty bits of silver to the chief priests and those in authority,
(BBE)

Matthew 27:4 and said, "I have sinned, in betraying to death one who is innocent." "What does that matter to us?" they replied; it is your business."
(WEY)

Matthew 27:5 And he put down the silver in the Temple and went out, and put himself to death by hanging.
(BBE)

Matthew 27:20 The High Priests, however, and the Elders urged the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to demand the death of Jesus.
(WEY BBE NAS)

Matthew 27:22 Pilate says to them, What, then, am I to do with Jesus, who is named Christ? They all say, Let him be put to death on the cross.
(BBE)

Matthew 27:26 Then he let Barabbas go free: but after having Jesus whipped, he gave him up to be put to death on the cross.
(BBE)

Matthew 27:52 the tombs opened; and many of God's people who were asleep in death awoke.
(WEY)

Matthew 28:5 And the angel said to the women, Have no fear: for I see that you are searching for Jesus, who was put to death on the cross.
(BBE)

Mark 3:4 And he said to them, Is it right to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil? to give life or to put to death? But they said nothing.
(BBE)

Mark 3:6 And the Pharisees went out, and straight away made designs with the Herodians about how they might put him to death.
(BBE)

Mark 5:13 And he let them do it. And the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs; and the herd went rushing down a sharp slope into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they came to their death in the sea.
(BBE)

Mark 5:23 and begged him much, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Please come and lay your hands on her, that she may be made healthy, and live."
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE WBS NAS RSV)

Mark 6:16 But Herod, when he had news of it, said, John, whom I put to death, has come back from the dead.
(BBE)

Mark 6:19 And Herodias was bitter against him, desiring to put him to death; but she was not able;
(BBE NAS)

Mark 7:10 For Moses said,'Honor your father and your mother;' and,'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.'
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Mark 8:31 And now for the first time He told them, "The Son of Man must endure much suffering, and be rejected by the Elders and the High Priests and the Scribes, and be put to death, and after two days rise to life."
(WEY BBE)

Mark 9:1 He said to them, "Most certainly I tell you, there are some standing here who will in no way taste death until they see the Kingdom of God come with power."
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Mark 9:31 for He was teaching His disciples, and telling them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will put Him to death; and after being put to death, in three days He will rise to life again."
(WEY BBE)

Mark 10:19 You have knowledge of what is said in the law, Do not put any one to death, Do not be untrue in married life, Do not take what is not yours, Do not give false witness, Do not get money by deceit, Give honour to your father and mother.
(BBE)

Mark 10:33 "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death, and will deliver him to the Gentiles.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Mark 10:34 they will insult Him in cruel sport, spit on Him, scourge Him, and put Him to death; but on the third day He will rise to life again."
(WEY BBE)

Mark 11:18 And it came to the ears of the chief priests and scribes, and they took thought how they might put him to death; being in fear of him, because all the people were full of wonder at his teaching.
(BBE)

Mark 12:5 And he sent another; and they put him to death: and a number of others, whipping some, and putting some to death.
(BBE)

Mark 12:7 But those workmen said among themselves, This is he who will one day be the owner of the property; come, let us put him to death, and the heritage will be ours.
(BBE)

Mark 12:8 And they took him and put him to death, pushing his body out of the garden.
(BBE)

Mark 12:9 What, therefore, will the owner of the vineyard do?" "He will come and put the vine-dressers to death," they said; "and will give the vineyard to others."
(WEY BBE)

Mark 12:20 There were once seven brothers, the eldest of whom married a wife, but at his death left no family.
(WEY BBE)

Mark 12:21 And the second took her, and at his death there were no offspring; and the third the same:
(BBE)

Mark 12:22 And all the seven had no seed. Last of all the woman herself came to her death.
(BBE)

Mark 13:12 "Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Mark 14:1 After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death.
(KJV WEY BBE WBS)

Mark 14:12 And on the first day of unleavened bread, when the Passover lamb is put to death, his disciples said to him, Where are we to go and make ready for you to take the Passover meal?
(BBE)

Mark 14:27 And Jesus said to them, You will all be turned away from me: for it is in the Writings, I will put the keeper of the sheep to death, and the sheep will be put to flight.
(BBE)

Mark 14:31 But he said with passion, If I have to be put to death with you, I will not be false to you. And they all said the same.
(BBE)

Mark 14:34 He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here, and watch."
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Mark 14:55 Now the chief priests and the whole council sought witnesses against Jesus to put him to death, and found none.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Mark 14:64 You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?" They all condemned him to be worthy of death.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Mark 15:15 And Pilate, desiring to do what was pleasing to the people, let Barabbas go free, and gave up Jesus, when he had been whipped, to be put to death on the cross.
(BBE)

Mark 15:20 And when they had made sport of him, they took the purple robe off him and put his clothing on him. And they took him out to put him to death on the cross.
(BBE)

Mark 15:30 Keep yourself from death, and come down from the cross.
(BBE)

Mark 16:6 And he said to them, Do not be troubled: you are looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been put to death on the cross; he has come back from the dead; he is not here: see, the place where they put him!
(BBE)

Luke 1:79 to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of peace."
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Luke 2:26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Luke 4:29 And they got up and took him out of the town to the edge of the mountain on which their town was, so that they might send him down to his death.
(BBE)

Luke 7:2 A certain centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick and at the point of death.
(WEB WEY ASV BBE RSV)

Luke 8:42 For he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was near to death. But while he was on his way, the people were pushing to be near him.
(BBE)

Luke 9:9 And Herod said, I put John to death: but who is this, of whom such stories are given to me? And he had a desire to see him.
(BBE)

Luke 9:22 and He said, "The Son of Man must suffer much cruelty, be rejected by the Elders and High Priests and Scribes, and be put to death, and on the third day be raised to life again."
(WEY BBE WBS)

Luke 9:27 But I tell you the truth: There are some of those who stand here, who will in no way taste of death, until they see the Kingdom of God."
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Luke 9:31 They came in glory, and kept speaking about His death, which He was so soon to undergo in Jerusalem.
(WEY BBE)

Luke 11:47 A curse is on you! for you make resting-places for the bodies of the prophets, but your fathers put them to death.
(BBE)

Luke 11:48 So you are witnesses and give approval to the work of your fathers; for they put them to death and you make their last resting-places.
(BBE)

Luke 11:49 For this reason the wisdom of God has said, I will send them prophets and teachers, and to some of them they will give death and cruel pains;
(BBE)

Luke 11:51 From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who was put to death between the altar and the Temple. Yes, I say to you, It will come on this generation.
(BBE)

Luke 12:4 And I say to you, my friends, Have no fear of those who may put the body to death, and are able to do no more than that.
(BBE)

Luke 12:5 But I will make clear to you of whom you are to be in fear: of him who after death has power to send you to hell; yes, truly I say, Have fear of him.
(BBE)

Luke 13:31 At that time, certain Pharisees came to him and said, Go away from this place, because Herod's purpose is to put you to death.
(BBE)

Luke 13:33 But I have to go on my way today and tomorrow and the third day, for it is not right for a prophet to come to his death outside Jerusalem.
(BBE)

Luke 13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, putting to death the prophets, and stoning those who were sent to her! again and again would I have taken your children to myself, as a bird takes her young ones under her wings, but you would not!
(BBE)

Luke 15:17 But when he came to his senses, he said, What numbers of my father's servants have bread enough, and more, while I am near to death here through need of food!
(BBE NIV)

Subtopics

Apostrophe: To Death and the Grave

Death

Death of the Righteous

Death: As a Judgment: Saul

Death: As a Judgment: Sodomites

Death: As a Judgment: Upon the Antediluvians

Death: Called Sleep